“I have read and agree to the terms and conditions.” Have you? To be honest, to obey the 9th commandment, should you check the box? And what about Jesus not fully disclosing who he was early on in his ministry? How does that square with being honest?
This is an addendum to last Sunday’s sermon. To remind us that as always, the overriding Christian ethic is love. A clear example often given to make this point is that it honors God to lie to Nazis if you’re hiding Jews during WWII. It’s also possible that reading 37 pages of fine print written to protect some company from being liable could divert us from loving people.
As we move toward passion week, think about why, at first, Jesus did not fully disclose that he was the Messiah. It’s because people then misunderstood the Messiah’s mission and would have tried to make Jesus a political king—as on Palm Sunday. Jesus held off with telling the full truth until it wouldn’t hurt—until it wouldn’t block him from carrying out his ministry for us.
But let’s make sure we know how to walk before trying to compete in the high hurdles. Walking is telling the simple truth, which is what love most often demands.
–Pastor Brent