October 19, 2016 – Words of Wisdom
Aristotle

“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” Aristotle

“Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.” Some.. Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not blind, are we?” Jesus said.. “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.” John 9:39-41

“Then the Pharisees said to him, “You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid.” Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” They (the Jews who had believed in him) answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?” John 8:13, 31-33

The Pharisees and the Jews “who had” believed in him were not able to accept the things that Jesus was saying. They were not able to even think about the possibility that Jesus may be who he says he is. Instead, that thought was so abhorrent, so blasphemous, they reject it immediately. In fact, as we learn from the scriptures, because of the things that Jesus was saying, and teaching, these same people were plotting to kill Jesus.

In our society today, we have people who go to a mall or show up at a wedding and begin to kill others because these “others” do not teach, think, and speak like they do. What progress have we made in the last two thousand years, if people still believe that the best way to be rid of those who do not think “like you do” is to eliminate their presence in the world? The true mark of religious folk, in my opinion, is the fact that we can work together with Methodists, with Presbyterians, with Jews, with Muslims, and with the Amish, and though we may have deep divides about Jesus, about Muhammad, about Holy Communion, and about Baptism, we can still sit in a pew together and worship G-d, or talk about serving our community. I do not believe G-d wants us to kill those who think differently from us. I believe G-d wants us to love them, work with them, and to work together to bring about the kingdom of G-d.

Pastor Dave