…oN mERCY aND sACRIFICE
October 5, 2008 by cheloyskee
“For I desire mercy, not sacrifice…”
…read these phrase several times last night as I do my quiet time. and as if it jumps out of the page and lingered in my head for the rest of the night..until I fell asleep.
so by morning, I studied more about it.
apparently, it was mentioned in the bible thrice—once, in the Old Testament by Hosea (6:6), and twice, in the New Testament by Jesus (Matt. 9:13, Matt. 12:7)…
and in both accounts in the New Testament, Jesus was rebuking the Pharisees…
and in both accounts, Jesus is citing Hosea to disprove them of their legalism.
(12:12 pm)
apparently, the Pharisees have failed to recognize that there is a Higher Order other than the laws and traditions that they religiously follow… and it offended them (big time!) how Jesus chose to break some of the traditions to heal the sick or feed people.
in Man’s Economy, you can’t blame the Pharisees for being upset.
- They have devoted all their life to follow these laws.
- They may have sleepless nights over some rituals.
- They may have sacrificed a lot of their time and energy for these traditions.
- They gave their all.
..and here comes The Christ, showing the rest of Judea that it’s ok to break them.
imagine the frustrations that these Pharisees felt.
I guess a lot of us, at times, felt that way in serving God.
- We devote our life to church activities.
- We had sleepless nights over them.
- We have sacrificed a lot of our time and energy for them.
- We gave our all.
…and it frustrates us when others can’t match the same commitment and faithfulness we give the ministry.
…then we are far from giving mercy.
One fRiend of mine said, “If one of our members in this group has been absent for quite some time, then something must not be right. The person might be struggling with something in other areas of his/her life. Take time to ask them if they are ok..”
..as I remember those words, I am now given an exact example of the mercy Jesus is hoping we could offer The Church.
Because Jesus did say…
“For I have NOT come to call the righteous but the SINNERS….” Matt. 9:13
Sacrifices for the Lord is not bad in itself… but let us not forget to show mercy on those who have failed to reach the standards that us, ourselves, have set to meet.
Jesus is more interested on what goes on in our hearts, rather than what our hands can do.
“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.” I Samuel 15:22
