Focal passage: Luke 6:1-11
A friend of mine once told me a story about a small, dwindling church he used to attend. The only thing notable about the church was its beautiful pipe organ.
Eventually, the members entered talks with another local congregation about the possibility of merging together. Everything was in order, and both parties seemed pleased. However, there was one issue – the new church had no room for the organ. It was simply too big.
Unfortunately this was a deal-breaker. The small church turned down the offer to merge with the larger, healthier church and was forced to close their doors permanently. Rather than continue as a body of believers, this small congregation chose to break fellowship for the sake of a prized instrument.
They had failed to distinguish their true priority.
Jesus was familiar with the human tendency to idolize traditions and possessions. In Luke 6, we read a story about a group of religious leaders who hoped to condemn Jesus because He violated their Sabbath traditions. While there was some truth in what they said, the religious leaders ultimately misunderstood the purpose behind the laws they clung to.
Jesus reminded them that the Sabbath was made for the benefit of mankind, not the other way around. He demonstrated this by healing a man with a shriveled hand on their sacred day (v 6).
No tradition should keep believers from doing good to one another.
Ask yourself: What traditions or preferences have I allowed to blind me? Too often we major on the minors. We get hung-up on worship styles or the way people are dressed that we miss our true purpose: to follow Jesus and make Him famous.
We can’t afford to be so distracted by the small stuff that we miss out on what Jesus is doing in our midst. The enemy has a much harder time distracting us when we have our priorities right.