April 21

Mark 7:1-13 (Click to see scripture)

Bible in One Year Passages:

Journal Entry

Scripture

8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” 9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 11 But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God) [4]— 12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

Observation

Jesus admonishes those who would criticize his disciples for not observing the tradition of ritually washing their hands before breaking bread. He points out the hypocrisy of those who would blindly follow tradition even though it would violate direct principles God had laid out. As usual, Jesus uses scripture to support his position.

Application

We are so busy with making sure our worship is correct that sometimes we forget what true worship is. We are caught up in forms, tradition, and cultural norms and ignore what God calls us to do. I am reminded of a church that a friend of mine recently visited where once a year, the whole church closes down on Sunday and the members are encouraged to spend that time of worship in volunteering in the community. What a wonderful concept! What better way to worship God than to express His love to those around us by serving them.

Prayer

Lord, place in my heart the desire for true worship: serving others as you have served us.

--Charlie Jang