Day 308: John 4:1 - 5:25

In so many places throughout the Gospels, we see the Pharisees and the religious leaders of the day confronting Jesus regarding certain "rules" that Jesus had broken. Interestingly enough, it seems that every time they present Jesus with a rule that He had broken He managed to bring up some sort of example where they broke the exact same rule because it was more convenient to them. This is such a perfect picture of the way religion works. Religion sits and makes rules to keep people from doing certain things and yet there are always loop-holes for those who made the rules. If what you're doing is inconvenient, or offensive, or somehow irritating to me, I can find some way to accuse you of breaking a religious rule, but if I do the same thing I can always justify it by my intentions. Religion is always finding ways to justify the wrong that has been committed, but grace came down not so that the sins could somehow be justified but so that the ones committing those sins would be justified. And when we are justified, we no longer spend our time trying to figure out how we can get away with breaking certain rules, but we end up looking for new ways to live righteously so we can glorify our Father in Heaven!

- Lord, thank You for justifying me so that I can live a life in which the focus has nothing to do with rules and regulations but is all about You and making You happy. I live to serve You and through Your grace, I have both the strength and the determination to do it! -