A Loving Father

 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?¹ If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him Matthew 7:9-11

Can you imagine what it must have been like for a pious Jew when they saw Jesus preaching to others in the street or in the Temple? I am guessing, (and I am far from an expert in this area for many reasons), that they were appalled and angry. Here was a “Rabbi” (teacher) who was confounding the very basis of some of their core beliefs. He was telling people that keeping the Shabbat (Sabbath) was less important than meeting the needs of their fellow man.

In other words, if they saw a person in need, it was better to actually do work (which was prohibited on Shabbat) in order to alleviate the pain of others, than to rest and honor God’s commandment on rest and worship.

This was consistent with his larger message that we can best honor God by attending to His creation, especially His people. For as a loving Father, God is most pleased when his children are OK. In fact, we as parents are OK if our kids are OK. To a large degree, if they are happy, we are happy. That’s how we feel as loving parents. God as the Creator and Father of us all, wants that too.

So, I’m sure that those pious people, and I trust that they were indeed pious, were shocked and angered about a Rabbi who was going against what they had held dear for centuries. It was like an attack on the culture and creed that had kept them together as a people.

Indeed, Jesus eventually was put to death for his “heretical” teachings. A death that came because he was sent by a loving Father to do just that.

Prayer: Lord, we are grateful for the life and teachings of Jesus, Amen