Rules are rules!...

John 5:10 "So the Jews kept saying to the man who was healed, 'It is not lawful to pick up your bed.'"

I put the following scenario to my teachers this morning:  They have a student who struggles with creative writing.  He just can't get his ideas organized and on paper.  After a lesson in which the teacher tried a new approach, she saw the young man smile and start scribbling furiously on his paper.  He finally got it and she could hardly wait to read his story.  When she came to his paper, much to her dismay, she noticed that he had written his rough draft in ink...a cardinal sin!  The rule said it must be done in pencil or it automatically goes in the trash.  So....what should she do?  After all, rules are rules.

The man in this passage had just been miraculously healed.  After 38 years of being crippled, he found himself walking around with his bed roll under his arm!  When the Jewish leaders (who must have seen him daily, lying at the side of the pool) saw him walking, their response was to me unthinkable.  They accused him of breaking the law (which carried the punishment of stoning).  He was breaking their law (not God's law!).  They focused so much on the offense that they missed the miracle! 

How often do I miss what God is doing in someone's life because I can't see past his "offenses"? Rules and procedures are necessary and good, but they sometimes get in the way of mercy and grace.  I find it challenging to keep both concepts in perspective.  That's why I must start my day in the Word, learning and remembering what Jesus would have me to do, realigning my priorities with His.  Only then can I hope to consistently see others through His eyes.

God, please help me to balance rules with mercy today. Thank you that you do that in my life.