Good or Evil?

Most nights, I listen to scripture on CD as I go to sleep.
One night, I heard something I never heard before.

It was from the book of Luke, chapter 6,
and it was the story of the man with the withered hand.

He was in the synagogue on the Sabbath and Jesus changed his world.
Jesus taught sometimes, on the Sabbath in the synagogues.
He was comfortable there because,
as He said as a young man of 13 years of age,
'This is my Father's house.'
But, the religious leaders were not comfortable with Him in The House.
He was forever breaking the rules.

They saw the man with the withered hand.
They saw Jesus come in.
And they watched.
They waited to see if He would heal the man.
I find it so hard to fathom that they wouldn't
have wanted Jesus to heal the man.
Didn't they have any compassion for the man's condition?

But they were not concerned about the need;
they were concerned about the law,
and the law said that no work could be done
on the Sabbath.

They watched closely to see if Jesus would heal the man
so they could accuse him of breaking the law.

But Jesus knew their thoughts.
He said to the man with the withered hand,
"Arise and stand here."
And he arose and stood.
(Why does this make me weep?)

Then Jesus said to them,
"I will ask you one thing:
Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or
to do evil, to save life or to destroy?"

Then He looked around at them
and said to the man,
"Stretch out your hand."
And he stretched out his hand
and it was restored as whole
as the other.

What an incredible church service!
But the religious leaders were not happy!
They were filled with rage!
Jesus had gone against their rules
and they had to do something to stop Him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So as I was going to sleep,
I heard His question,
"..is it lawful to do good or do evil.."

There was no middle ground here.

There was a man with a withered hand.
Jesus could either do good and heal the man's hand
or do evil, and allow it to stay the way it was.

Every Sunday I go to church,
there are people there with withered hands.
Their withered hands might be a broken heart
or a wayward child, a difficult marriage,
or a battle with cancer.

I can do good to them
and speak the word that sets them free
or gives them comfort.
I can lay my hands on them
and God could use me to bring healing
and hope.
I could listen closely to that still small voice
and heed what He tells me to do.

Or,
I could do evil on the Sabbath,
and leave them alone
with their withered hands
and withered hearts
and withered lives,
and they could leave the tabernacle
the same way they came in.


I am thinking about these things.