Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Luke 6 before reading the devotional below.
I’m the worst when it comes to rules. Not because I break them — quite the opposite actually. From a very young age I learned that when I followed the rules those around me were happy. When I saw others break the rules, the adults were not pleased and the consequences (both natural and imposed) were not something I wanted to experience. I began to trust in rules. And the more I tried to follow the rules, the more I realized that people also had preferences. Not rules exactly, just ways they liked things. And so I added that to my list of “rules” — things I did to please other people and get the positive reactions I liked. Pretty soon I became a lot of people’s favorite (you know I’m still your favorite, Mom…). I knew exactly who liked what things in which ways and my behavior always adjusted to make sure I met everyone’s standards. Then I added to that all the Bible rules that seemed to be there and I felt like I was doing pretty well keeping everyone including God happy.
And as much as I wish my children would bend to my preferences (which my sister assures me would turn them into creepy robot children), I have come to realize a few things about rules. For example, you will eventually reach places in life in which the people around you have conflicting preferences and you cannot make everyone happy at the same time. Another problem with rule-obsession is that you lose your sense of self. My heart’s desire was so strongly tied to rules and making others happy, I never asked myself what I needed or wanted. I had no understanding of grace, nor did I know how to receive it from God. Salvation is one thing. Grace in the midst of breaking rules is another.
Luke 6 brings us back to some of our earlier themes about rules versus life in the Spirit. Jesus breaks some rules and makes some people mad. Then he gives a sermon about all the ways that you can follow all the rules and be so far from the heart of God you have missed the whole point.
I still miss the point a lot. I still feel better when I can follow an exactly prescribed path and not have to do much thinking for myself. I still want to make everyone happy and it is very hard for me when that does not work. But God has begun to help teach me about his grace. I never wanted to need grace, honestly. If you follow all the rules you never need it. And Jesus came with that exact message: “If you think you don’t need grace, then you don’t need me. But if you know you need some grace, I’m handing it out freely.” Here’s your freedom for today: let your heart be moved by the grace of God. If you know you need it, take it today. And if you don’t want it, check in with your heart. Chances are you are protecting something that you are better off without.