Message from Jonathan Medina, West Campus 1st Grade Teacher

John 5:9-13

Jesus is not after your works - He's after your heart...

In this passage from John, the lame man was laying on the ground for 38 years. When he was healed by Jesus he was immediately criticized for violating the Sabbath law by walking with his bed on the Sabbath. Jesus didn't seem to heal this man for the man's sake. In fact, the man didn't ask to be healed by Jesus and didn't even inquire as to who Jesus was immediately after his healing. The man was an example of ungratefulness. Regardless, Jesus purposely healed this man on the Sabbath with the intent of engaging the religious leaders in conversation because the religious had the law but no love.

Again, this story is not about Jesus' works of healing a lame man. This story is about Jesus trying to change the paradigm of those around Him. Jesus wanted to show the religious people God's love, how it cannot be defined by boundaries or placed in a box. Like Jesus, we need to show love, undeserving and unconditionally, to even the most ungrateful of people who may even reject us.

Children are notorious for not always showing gratitude for the love we pour out to them day after day. But remember that those are not the only ones noticing our love. It may not always be for the person to whom we are showing the love, but perhaps to those who are looking on. Whether at church of at school, we need to be careful about what we are focusing on. Are we focusing on our work, just getting things done, or are we focusing on the will of God on earth, to love people to salvation?

We need to have compassion and love for all people, even the ones who bug us. But it's hard to love people who bug us. So how do we do it? Remember the love and mercy God has continued to show you, even when you didn't deserve it. We need to ask God to help us love them the way God has loved us - not for our glory, but for the Glory of our Father in Heaven.