Checklists, rules, laws - they are meant to be our servants, not our masters.  As servants, they can greatly aid us in our walk with Jesus.  As masters, they lead us astray, for they can never save or sanctify us.

Matthew 23:27-28, Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Going all-out to order our lives by our checklists, rules, or laws often looks so incredibly righteous.  When we see a person do this, we often think, "My, I wish I was half as dedicated as he is."  But we don't know his heart, do we?  If he has disciplined himself out of a deep gratitude for God's grace and is walking in the Spirit, then we could learn a lot from him.  If, on the other hand, he is using his lists to define who he is and is walking in the flesh, then even though he might look good he is nothing more than a whitewashed tomb.  Checklists, rules, and laws are means to an end, not the end in-and-of-themselves.  Christ crucified living within us - that is the end.

Quiet Reflections: We all at times feel distant from Jesus.  Sometimes, that just happens.  There is no explanation for it.  Other times, however, we feel distant because we are distant.  And we are distant because we have clung to his laws and not to him.  If you feel distant from Jesus, ask yourself if you have perhaps clung to the wrong thing.

Thoughts or comments?

pastorbobkorntved@outlook.com