Matthew 12:7 If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.
When I was in college, I had a standing babysitting gig after classes each day. I was instructed, if my charge got into trouble with a toy, to remove that toy into “timeout” but to offer another toy in its place. I remember my college-age self being baffled by that parenting technique, wondering how the child would ever learn if he still had a toy to play with.
Matthew 12:9-10 Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”
Today’s reading brought that long-ago time to mind. I wonder if the parents, in their own way, were upholding Hosea 6:6/Matthew 12:7, showing the child mercy instead of forcing him to sacrifice.
Matthew 12:11 He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out?
Lord, I still have so very much to learn in this life. Help me to take to heart the fact that You desire mercy over sacrifice as I deal with others in day-to-day life. Help me to seek ways to be merciful and compassionate in Your name. Amen.
Matthew 12:12 How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
Have a blessed day. I love you.