May 2nd, 20

MAY 2,   The Answer for a Hard Heart

Our readings today are I Chronicles 16, Psalm 106, and Matthew 19.  We are reading from the New Living Translation.

The Law is a concession to our hard hearts.  The laws of divorce, mentioned in Matthew, are a concession – they are a concession to hard-heartedness. That principle applies to all laws, not just divorce.  All law is a concession to the problem of a hard heart.   It’s an acknowledgement of the reality of our own rebellion and life apart from God.  It’s a concession to our condition, not God’s answer.  His ultimate answer to hard-heartedness is not divorce or the Law.  

His ultimate answer to the problem of a hard heart can be seen in the picture of marriage.

His ultimate answer to the problem of a hard heart can be seen in the picture of marriage.  It was at a marriage that Jesus performed his first miracle, the wedding feast in Cana.  And the last miracle we read about is the great Wedding Feast.  These miracles are taking place around a wedding, because all of Scripture, and God’s ultimate answer, is the Bridegroom.  Jesus himself is the ultimate answer to our hard-heartedness.  It is not the Law.  It is the work and the person of Christ, and the grace that we receive through him, that is the answer that we are all looking for. 

He is the answer to this hard heart of mine.

Those who considered themselves religious and faithful,  came looking to trap Jesus in their question about divorce.  But Jesus is not interested in their traps.  He is interested in offering the answer to a hard heart.  His answer is seen in a wedding, in Him – the Bridegroom.  It’s seen as he lives his life in and through us, creating all things new.

See beyond the traps and concessions and see right through to Him – God’s ultimate answer to our hard hearts – the Bridegroom – a wedding – new life.  He is welcoming us all into an intimate and life-changing relationship with him.

You are loved!