Daily Devotional: February 12

Pieter Bruegel the Elder - The Parable of the Blind Leading the Blind

Week 3, Day 5, The Gospel According to Matthew, Chapter 15

The story at the beginning of Matthew 15 is an important lesson for everyone who considers herself or himself religious. The Pharisees, like us, have a tendency to define themselves by what they don't do. In this case, they are calling out the disciples for not following the rules as they have interpreted them. Jesus immediately calls the Pharisees out for the way they interpret a different rule, showing that no one is perfect if the standard of perfection is someone else's understanding of the rules. The rules, to Jesus, are only useful as far as they demonstrate the heart of the person following them. They are not to be lorded over people.

Does your heart match your mouth?

To Jesus, why we do something is more important than if we do it. If we truly follow Christ's movement in the world, we will see church attendance as no more a metric of spiritual health than eye color. The ability to take account of our hearts, to see what actually festers and spoils within them is the most important outcome of spiritual disciplines. Lent, prayer, fasting, solitude, silence, meditation, and prayer are all ways we take inventory of what is in our hearts. We can't lead people to Jesus if our hearts are wanting something else. We will be like the blind leading the blind into a pit: unable to see the Light of life.

Does your heart match your mouth?

The ability to see is a trope of Jesus' teaching. He is often getting on to the Pharisees for being unable to see, he admonishes the entire generation for being blind, and he often asks that "He who has eyes to see let him see." Jesus is pointing us to the awareness, the enlightenment, that comes with observing His movement in the world. The more you look for Christ on earth, the more you will see Him. The more you take account of your heart, the cleaner you will find it. In Matthew 6, Jesus says id your eye is clean, your whole body will be clean. Here he says if your heart is clean and if your mouth is clean, you will be clean.Your eye is your ability to find what you are looking for. 

Does your heart match your mouth?

Are we able to point people to the Christ that is already all around them? Do we see Him? Are we too busy requiring people to fit into our interpretation of what a 'Christian' is to see how Christ is already moving in them? Do we take account of our hearts on a daily basis?

Try to see what is in your heart. Ask God to remind you of the things that are inside of you.