Grounded

Sometimes we put too much trust in what we think we know.

The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test Jesus they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then he left them and went away. When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. Jesus said to them, “Watch out, and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” They said to one another, “It is because we have brought no bread.” And becoming aware of it, Jesus said, “You of little faith, why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? How could you fail to perceive that I was not speaking about bread? Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!” Then they understood that he had not told them to beware of the yeast of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. - Matthew 16:1-12

If Jesus was able to show the Pharisees and Sadducees a sign, would they have believed in him?

Or would they have questioned the validity of the sign?

Jesus explained that they ignore the many signs they see.  They are stuck in the world view they have developed for themselves, and can see no other.

They are grounded in the wrong place.

The disciples should have been open to hearing the message since they had spent so much time with Jesus and understood his methods.  But they were intimidated by the authority of the leaders of their religion.

They ignored the obvious because it went against their conditioned mindset.

We are like them.  We see things the way we expect to see them, even if they are showing signs of something different.

So, we may stay the course when it is time to change, or we may change when it is the right time to redouble our efforts.

On this Veterans' Day, we honor those who stayed the course and fought the fight for us.  They didn't waver when asked to give of themselves, and they took what they learned in training and put it into practice o the field of battle.

They learned to see the signs, the warnings, and they made their decisions accordingly.

So it is with us.  We need to choose our battles wisely, and be ready to take action.

In their honor, we live.  

More to come...