 The Book of Esther introduces us to a king called Xerxes who ruled over 127 provinces which stretched from India to Cush (the upper Nile region). King Xerxes decided to hold two banquets, with the second one being for 7 days, and for the least to the greatest in the citadel of Susa.
Esther 1:8 says, "By the the king's command each guest was allowed to drink in his own way, for the king instructed all the wine stewards to serve each man what he wished." I looked up the word "command" after thinking: "what do you mean he commanded each guest to be allowed to drink...what kind of order is that?" Then I saw that it meant: "authoritative order", i.e. to show that he was in charge. This brought a whole new aspect...
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 Matthew 23:24 says: "you blind guides! you strain out a gnat (a tiny two-winged fly) but swallow a camel."
In this verse, the Pharisees were focusing and getting picky on the LITTLE things which prevented them from dealing with the BIGGER issues that were truly important (for them, they were missing mercy and faithfulness amidst the justice - verse 23). I was reading this verse and found it interesting. I used to laugh when I would read about the Pharisees because they were just...always there...like ALL the time, as in bothering Jesus. I don't mean it was "HA-HA-Hilaaaariously-funny" but funny in the sense that they would go OUT of their way JUST to catch Jesus doing something or saying something wrong so they could prove that He wasn't who He said He was. As we have the different types Christianity (i.e. Catholics, Lutherans, Baptists, etc.), we know that some of the churches separated over "petty" things, and others separated over legitimate reasons (e.g. about the Holy Spirit, or what Communion really entailed, etc.), and that led to many many denominations. We see that the Pharisees were so passionate about arguing over the little stuff and not the big stuff which truly matters. I found this interesting as I tied this with Paul's "method" of evangelism where he chose not to focus on arguing over the "little" stuff for the sake of empty arguments. Instead, Paul shifted his focus and became all things to all people in order to win them for the Gospel, i.e. The Bigger Stuff :) Here's what I mean by that...  The other morning I read my devotional. The verse for the day was John 13:17 where Jesus washed the disciples' feet and said, "Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them."
I read that verse and prayed: "Lord, please help me to put my faith into action." Sometimes we know what to do but can get too scared to pursue the "task" (for a lack of a better word). We can find ourselves not taking a leap of faith and not trusting God to guide us in the things He made known to us to do. Now...we all know that when we pray prayers that require either patience, or a task, we will be put in situations where we will be able to exercise that gift/fruit so that our spiritual muscles can get stronger... |
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