ODJ: principled
February 17, 2011
This dear woman, a daughter of Abraham, has been held in bondage by Satan for eighteen years. Isn’t it right that she be released, even on the Sabbath? (v.16).
READ: Luke 13:10-21
Teaching in a Christian preparatory school, I am accustomed to including an “honor code” on each quiz and test that my students take. Because they live in a world of moral relativism, some students are accustomed to signing on the line even when they’ve cheated. Recently I had to turn a student in for cheating, and as I watched the administration seek to respond with grace and justice, I saw in action what Jesus tried to impart to those around Him. People and principles go hand-in-hand.
Comfortable in their list of rules, the Pharisees couldn’t understand why Jesus would heal a woman on the Sabbath (Luke 13:12-14). Due to their own self-righteousness, they missed the point—and the grace of God. The rule was to put aside work in order to save the Sabbath for God’s glory alone. Jesus’ point? What better way to glorify God than by allowing Him to do the work of healing. They saw the law; Jesus saw the person.
In our dealings with others, we need to hold fast to the truth of God’s Word and its principles. To become passive in our response to sin is to build our houses on shifting sand (Matthew 7:26). Jesus came to show us that the law for the sake of the law brings only death (Romans 4:15), but implementing the law to demonstrate our need for Jesus brings life (3:19-24).
God’s justice and His mercy are not opposing forces. The purpose of mercy is to make way for grace, and extending grace doesn’t mean setting aside principles. Grace understands that the true purpose behind any standard is found in what Jesus lifted up as the most important of all—God-centered love (Mark 12:30-31). —Regina Franklin
Are there places in your life where you have become more focused on a principle than a person? In what specific areas have you experienced God’s mercy? How have you been transformed by His grace?
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