I got to drive in some of the worst fog the other day. For the most part all the other drivers were driving cautiously as I was. Except there were those cars. You know, the ones without their lights on. My mantra ran through my head ‘the lights aren’t just so you can see, they’re so you can be seen.’ I thought about flashing my lights at them, but the visibility was so bad and everyone was really watching their speed so I just left it. But I mentally ranted and raved. ‘Remember people, just because your lights are on automatic doesn’t mean they’re on….duh.’ I was being extra vigilant, making sure that I was being deliberate about my driving and not letting my sometimes-lead foot get the best of me. I left plenty of room between me and the cars ahead of me, possibly even more than I needed because the driver behind me was closer than I liked. I was so, well, proud, that I was really following the Driver’s Ed manual on this one; NO….I was following it better than the manual. Phew, if only these people knew how lucky they were that I was out there being a extra good driver.
Then I got into town, where the fog was still thick…. And a driver blinked their lights at me. No crazy person, my lights come on automatically. I even have my fog lights on. I’m peachy keen.
Next intersection, another car blinked their lights at me….on…off. So…..the signal that I wanted to give to other so they could realize their ignorance, their folly, their down fall…some is now doing to me. Interestinggggg….I’ve spaced out far enough behind people that I never had a chance to make sure my automatic lights were indeed on. Could it be….?
At my first stop, I made sure to park in front of a window….and in that window’s reflection, I saw my lights shine brightly…only after I turned the onto manual. Oh dear….I had been one of those cars all along.
How fitting that very morning, after I had arrived, my study was on Jesus’ response to the accusations by Pharisees who did not approve of his eating with tax collectors. Matthew, one of Jesus twelve disciples, was of course a tax collector, a man and profession hated by all Jews. To the Pharisees they were considered unclean. Matthew, after being called from his post to the ministry of Christ, threw a party and called his Tax Collectors to join him to meet Jesus. Here was a religious teacher who did not despise them, but instead brought them hope and love that they’d never before received. They’d been convinced by laypersons and religious leaders that they were unable to achieve the perfection needed to have the rights o salvation. But here was a man who taught that love was the way to heaven, not perfection.
While the Tax Collectors couldn’t believe it, the Pharisees couldn’t like it. For one, it meant that they were on an equal level with these wretched persons who’d sold their souls to cheat their countrymen; love was not earned. For two, all their efforts, excessive rule following, was pointless. And three, their excessive goodness no longer made them superior and therefore they cold lose their power to rule over these who were less fortunate, who were ignorant, who were less good.
They approached Jesus, accusing him. He, a simple man against the well-educated and extremely good Teachers, quickly responded, explaining that the Love of God had been spelled out in scriptures which they knew well, but did not want to make available to everyone. He went further, pointing out that their tightly-held traditions and self-justifications were “old thinking.” And just like no one would put beautiful new furniture into a dilapidated house that would collapse and destroy the new furniture (in the Bible, it says new wine in old wineskins…but I don’t know many people who use wineskins anymore so I improvised), so the revelation of a God who bases salvation from Love would not fit into the old tired traditions of their religion of Self, with its countless petty rules, popularity contests and judgementalism.
The author penned these words. “It was this that proved the ruin of the Jews, and it will prove the ruin of many souls in our own day. Thousands are making the same mistake as did the Pharisees whom Christ reproved at Matthew’s feast. Rather than give up some cherished idea, or discard some idol of opinion, many refuse the truth which comes down from the Father of light. They trust in self, and depend upon their own wisdom, and do not realize their spiritual poverty. They insist on being saved in some way by which they may perform some important work. When they see that there is no way of weaving self into the work, they reject the salvation provided.” (AA Levi-Matthew, by EGW)
Just like I was certain that I had my lights on and others didn’t, so the Pharisee’s were certain that they had the truth within them and others couldn’t. The Pharisees could not see that they were truly wrong, very wrong, and sought to kill the truth rather than accept such an idea. I learned a very valuable lesson (do NOT assume my automatic lights came on in fog) and have made a note to change my driving routine, particularly when fog is present.
But may I not be like those who cannot realize the truth in the words of Jesus the Son of God, and who refuses to think that I may not be able to earn myself a place in heaven. Read it again. “Rather than give up some cherished idea, or discard some idol of opinion…they trust in self, and depend upon their own wisdom, and od not realized their spiritual property.” Oh wretched soul that I am, who can save me from this human body? (Romans 7:24). Nothing but the blood of Jesus Christ.
