There was a woman in Nepal...
Illustration
Object:
There was a woman in Nepal who couldn't walk. She had been crippled for many years. Then one of my seminary students, John, invited me to come and visit her. She was walking! Her son who was a Hindu wasn't sure if this was right! It was shaking his Hindu belief, but he had to believe what he was seeing. I should add that he was embarrassed by what his Hindu priests could not do! They had also warned him to avoid those Christians.
There are some denominations who won't allow people to do anything on Sunday (the Sabbath is Saturday, which only the Seventh-Day Adventists take off). There are some who insist that all we are allowed to do is sit in a chair all day. Some say that even looking out the window is wrong! It may make us want to be outside. When I was a child, few if any stores were open, though doctors were allowed to make house calls! Jesus did not have office hours and healed when there was need. He told the "hypocrites" that they did many things on the Sabbath like taking care of their livestock. When the people heard this they were delighted that those "fundamentalists" were embarrassed -- they were humiliated!
We have to be careful that we do not use this healing by Jesus on a Sabbath as an excuse for doing anything, any work, on his day. We tend to go overboard in our age. If one store can open, then any and all stores can open. Is golf work? Is going to a movie on Sunday work? Can we make the bed or wash the dishes?
The point of this story is that we must put the care of others first in our life. God looks in our heart and sees what is motivating us. Why not mow the lawn on Saturday? Do your shopping then also, so others won't have to work. We have to be careful not to be legalists.
One of my confirmands was a caddie who was called to work on a Sunday. The boss said that he couldn't use Roman Catholics on Sunday because they had to be in church. My boys were really annoyed and I had to set their boss straight. Maybe he could have used Seventh-Day Adventists! All Christians should go by the same rules, but more important: what we do should depend on our relationship with our Lord and what he wants us to do, like helping others who need our help. God does not have a scoreboard. Do only what your conscience tells you to do -- no more and no less.
There are some denominations who won't allow people to do anything on Sunday (the Sabbath is Saturday, which only the Seventh-Day Adventists take off). There are some who insist that all we are allowed to do is sit in a chair all day. Some say that even looking out the window is wrong! It may make us want to be outside. When I was a child, few if any stores were open, though doctors were allowed to make house calls! Jesus did not have office hours and healed when there was need. He told the "hypocrites" that they did many things on the Sabbath like taking care of their livestock. When the people heard this they were delighted that those "fundamentalists" were embarrassed -- they were humiliated!
We have to be careful that we do not use this healing by Jesus on a Sabbath as an excuse for doing anything, any work, on his day. We tend to go overboard in our age. If one store can open, then any and all stores can open. Is golf work? Is going to a movie on Sunday work? Can we make the bed or wash the dishes?
The point of this story is that we must put the care of others first in our life. God looks in our heart and sees what is motivating us. Why not mow the lawn on Saturday? Do your shopping then also, so others won't have to work. We have to be careful not to be legalists.
One of my confirmands was a caddie who was called to work on a Sunday. The boss said that he couldn't use Roman Catholics on Sunday because they had to be in church. My boys were really annoyed and I had to set their boss straight. Maybe he could have used Seventh-Day Adventists! All Christians should go by the same rules, but more important: what we do should depend on our relationship with our Lord and what he wants us to do, like helping others who need our help. God does not have a scoreboard. Do only what your conscience tells you to do -- no more and no less.
