+ “I told you to do it that way because I knew it was for your own good.”
What parent hasn’t said this numerous times to their children? —
“It’s for your own good.”
And so God speaks the same to Israel. And he claims the right to say it because — and in his own words —
“Thus says the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the LORD, your God, teaching you how to prevail, leading you on the way you should go.”
Could it be any more clear? And please notice again, it is not to please God and make God feel good, nor is it for God. It is for us! It is so our lives can be good, for it is for our own good!
And we hear Jesus suggesting the same. He told the crowds, you don’t see nor do you hear, and you certainly don’t listen.
You criticized John. You criticized me. And you almost always miss the point. The law of Moses is good. But the law of love is best!
And that Jesus would prove again and again in his life and in his works — even at the weakest and most vulnerable moment on the cross.
For in these four weeks of Advent preparation, we are really given the opportunity to see and hear the Christ who comes to us in the memory of his birth — his incarnation.
And we are given the opportunity and the privilege again and again to open ourselves to his teaching, his way, his example, and his love.
