2 Kings 24—25, John 5:1-24 Key Verses: John 5:16-17

What’s the big deal about an appendix anyway? I don’t mean the one at the end of a book, but the one that sometimes is removed by a surgeon. It really isn’t ‘important and goes unnoticed until it becomes a pain.

Some “issues” that cry for attention are like an appendix. What’s really important is overlooked and what’s not is overemphasized. It happened in Jesus’ day and it happens in ours.

The important thing Jesus did was heal a lame man, one who had been an invalid for 38 years. The man was waiting by the pool of Bethesda, hoping to be healed. And he was!

The Jews then persecuted Jesus because He healed on the Sabbath, What was important was overlooked—the man was healed. What was unimportant was overemphasized—observing the Sabbath the way the Jews thought it should be.
Jesus’ defense was, “My Father is always at his work to this very, day, and I, too, am working” (v. 17). That brought more criticism as He was accused of blasphemy, equating Himself with God.

Just think of ail the emotional energy that could have been saved if the right thing had been emphasized: the lame man was healed.

Does what matters to you really matter to God? Is He as concerned about the traditions and practices that may characterize your Christian life? Now reverse the question. Does what matters to God really matter to you? Jesus healed people, even on the Sabbath, because He was doing what mattered to God.

_Sometimes its hard for us to see ourselves as clearly as others do. The next time there is some “issue” that is bothering you, ask a wise friend about it. Are you overemphasizing something unimportant?_

Woodrow Kroll & Tony Beckett
www.backtothebible.in