“When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at His teaching, for He taught with real authority – quite unlike their teachers of religious law.” (Matthew 7:28 NLT)
Jesus’ teaching was so powerful because what He taught was being lived out and demonstrated in human life with His every breath. He called people to action with His teaching – to see things differently, to understand them with their heart and mind, leading them to change, not only their mind, but their behavior. How we live is the best illustration of what we believe.
If our walk doesn’t match our talk, for all intent and purpose, our talk is valueless. Talbot W. Chambers wrote: “Doctrine without duty is a tree without fruits; duty without doctrine is a tree without roots.” That sounds all well and good, but what does it mean? How do we apply our faith in practical ways.
There are lots of ways, but ultimately if our faith isn’t reflected in how we treat others, it doesn’t have its roots in the Christian Faith and doesn’t reflect the teachings of Jesus. One of the most descriptive passages to me in regard to Jesus’ heart is found in Mark 7:24-30. A Gentile woman comes to Jesus because her daughter is demon possessed, but Jesus pretends to push her away.
He first says to her: “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.” But it doesn’t deter her, as He knew it wouldn’t. Their brief dialog soon results in Jesus healing her daughter, thus, in many ways, laying the foundation for the grace extended to me and you today. The Jews were the “children”, and we are the “dogs” in this story.
There’s a sense in which this healing illustrates Jesus’ “doctrine” in very specific terms. How so? This Gentile woman wouldn’t have been on any of the Jewish teachers’ radar. They wouldn’t have even given her the benefit of a conversation, but Jesus engaged her, I think more for His disciples and others in His audience in that setting, than for the woman herself. He knew what He was going to do and how it would change her life forever.
Nothing Jesus said or did was by accident. Every detail of every conversation and instruction had purpose and “fit” into His overall plan of conveying His heart and His plan for mankind. He came to earth with a purpose to fulfill and every word added to the full picture of what that would look like. This story of the Gentile woman basically showed His willingness to be open to anyone, at any stage of life, with any problem and He would listen and offer His help.
We can spout off how good God is all day long, but until we illustrate it through our own efforts as we seek to ease the pain of the hurting in our own spheres of influence, they’re just words. And it must begin in our own homes and families. It’s noble to help a brother or sister we don’t know well, but there seems to be no other illustration of the life of Christ in us than to walk with our spouse and family in a time of crisis.
We’d think that would be the easiest, but for me, it’s often the hardest. I don’t know why, but I seem to be least sensitive to my wife and kids when it comes to being Jesus, than anyone else. Perhaps because they know me best, I’m afraid it will seem less genuine, like I’m doing it out of obligation rather than the joy of Jesus’ love for me being offered to them.
Regardless of how I think it feels or looks, by His grace I/we must continue to try in every season and circumstance to illustrate to my/our family the love of my/our Savior living in and working through me/us. Why is that so important?
Because if the validity of our “doctrine” isn’t proven in our own homes, it really doesn’t matter where else we carry out our “duty” for the Savior.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 