Let Christ rule your heart

Matthew 12:1-5 (NLT)

1 At about that time Jesus was walking through some grain fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, so they began breaking off some heads of grain and eating them. 2 But some Pharisees saw them do it and protested, “Look, your disciples are breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath.” 3 Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He went into the house of God, and he and his companions broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. 5 And haven’t you read in the law of Moses that the priests on duty in the Temple may work on the Sabbath?



In these verses the Pharisees challenge Jesus about the law of the Sabbath. Their contention was there was to be no work done on the Sabbath. The Pharisees were saying it was wrong to pick grain off the stalk to eat it. Had the grain been picked and available for eating there would not have been a problem. Jesus responded with examples of exceptions.





Even today like the Pharisees there are those who try to enforce strict religious rules upon people. I read a comment the other day about someone putting up a Christmas tree and the response they got was “why are you celebrating a heathen ritual?” I can agree there was a point in history where there were ceremonial trees for non-Christian rituals, but does that automatically make a Christmas tree bad? I would say the answer is no, because it the heart of a person that matters. If they are putting up decorations as a way of commemorating Christ then what is wrong with that action? There are some who believe in magical powers of crystals, but there are also people who just enjoy the beauty of a crystal that God formed. The laws were meant to guide people, but when Christ entered into the hearts of people He let them see what is right and what is wrong. Yes, worshiping a tree might be wrong, but allowing it to be a decoration cannot be held against a person. Let go of rules and let Christ instead rule within your heart.