Today's Gospel opens up with Jesus calling the scribes and the Pharisees hypocrites saying that not only will they not enter the Kingdom, but they are preventing others from entering as well.
We must make sure we are arming ourselves with God's Word and His Truth! There are too many people in positions of authority today that are leading people away from Christ (who is our door to the Kingdom), whether intentionally or unintentionally. We must be sure we are not allowing ourselves to be led astray.
The religious leaders of Jesus day were leading people away from truth and what was important. They were imposing their own rules and regulations and missing the real point, Jesus! They were placing far more importance on rules than the spirit or meaning of those rules.
They made the wrong things important. Jesus asked was "which is greater, the gold or the temple that made the gold sacred?"
This question makes me think about those that place more emphasis on the church building and structure than they do what takes place inside and who is invited in. They place more importance on the tradition than who the traditions are all about. Without inviting Jesus in, the building is just a building, right?
Do you ever shut the door on the Kingdom? Do you shut Jesus out of your life? It is not the fault of others, ultimately we have our own choice whether to follow Jesus. There are far too many days where I know I close that door. I am not saying I lock it and throw away the key and am out forever, but I sure to keep myself out at times!
I know I am shutting the door when I am not being obedient to God, when I am not being loving or kind to my neighbor and when I let my emotions rule me. I know I am shutting the door when I am looking to the world instead of to God for answers.
It is not enough to just believe in Jesus and have faith in Him, we must be living out that faith! We must act on the faith we have by loving our neighbor, doing good, obeying, and not allowing pride to get in our way! We must start being obedient and me must submit to God and His will!
We must be in God's Word so we can be receptive to what He has to say to us. Let's stop shutting the door on ourselves! Don't lock yourself out!
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