2018 Fast - Hard Hearts

Then he turned to his critics and asked, “Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?” But they wouldn’t answer him.

5 He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts.   (Mark 3:4-5a) 

Life is full of situations where we will be criticized.  if you have ever lead any group of people you know the realities of criticism. We also know it because in each of us there is a critic that comes out from time to time to share our insights with others. Jesus also faced critics who didn't believe He was the Son of God or anything good at all.  

Jesus asked his critics if the Sabbath law meant people could not do good on the Sabbath.  Seems like an obvious question.  Jesus was revealing the lack of common sense that the Law of the Jews had come to at this point in history.  A good command of God had become a restriction on even doing good or saving a life.  Good had become evil.  

This broke Jesus' heart because He was able to see the hard heartes of the his critics.  Criticism and hard hearts often go hand in hand.  When we find ourselves being overly critical of others we need to check our hearts and our sensitivity to the Holy Spirit of God.  I break the heart of God when I am hard hearted and critical of others.  When I lack the grace that is needed to deal with other people in a compassionate way I need to pause and check my heart.  

Fasting, Sabbath rest, and all other religious activities can be greatly helpful for our spiritual journey and our connection with God if done with the right heart.