Stirring Things Up

When someone is known to stir things up we usually jump to the conclusion that it is a bad thing. But that is not always true.

When I make chili I saute some peppers, onion and garlic. I dump them in the crock-pot. Then I brown some ground round and put it in the crock pot as well. I add a can of tomato sauce, whole tomatoes, two cans of kidney beans, chili powder, salt and pepper. Then I turn the crock-pot on low and leave it for the day.

How is that chili going to turn out? It is going to be awful because I did not "stir" it. Stirring things up can be a good thing. You can have all the ingredients in place but if it is not properly stirred it never becomes what it can be. I stir my chili through out the day so it gets properly mixed together so that it can be the best chili on the face of the earth (by the way it is).

In John 5:1-30 Jesus comes into Jerusalem for the feast of Tabernacles. There is a man who had been crippled for thirty-eight years and Jesus heals him. He tells him to get up, pick up his mat and go home. The problem is this happened on the Sabbath. It was against the oral law to carry a mat on the Sabbath.

The religious leaders criticized the man for carrying his mat on the Sabbath. Instead of noticing the man was walking after thirty-eight years they notice he is carrying his mat. Instead of rejoicing in what God had done they frown on what the man was doing.

Then when Jesus is confronted by the religious leaders about telling this man to carry his mat on the Sabbath, he tells them he does what his Father tells him to do. Now they are mad because he make himself equal with God by calling Him his Father. John says this mad them try all the harder to kill him.

Sometimes we get so caught up in our traditions and oral laws that we miss opportunities to live like Jesus. No wonder most churches are struggling to make an impact in the kingdom. They are afraid to stir things up and be more like Jesus. They hold on to things that do not matter and wonder why God is not blessing what they are doing week to week.

If you feel like your relationship with God is a little stale--Do something different! Stir things up a little bit. The ingredients are all in place all you need to do is "Stir!"