Matthew 19:10-12
Find a place and time free of distractions for the next 7-10 minutes. Sit comfortably and breathe deeply for a few seconds before you begin. As you breathe in, say the name of Jesus and become aware of his presence with you. As you breathe out, open your mind and heart to receive whatever Jesus has for you today.
Look back over Matthew 19:1-9 and then read today’s passage, Matthew 19:10-12.
It isn’t just the Pharisees who are stuck in their faulty paradigms. Even Jesus’ closest followers have a hard time moving beyond the confines of their traditional ways of thinking.
The idea that husbands should treat their wives with dignity and justice is completely foreign to the disciples and seems an impossible task. But Jesus side-steps their narrow thinking and points them toward an entirely new vista of thought: marriage is not the only option.
We don’t know what we don’t know, but as we open ourselves up to Jesus, he transforms even the way we think.
Stop to contemplate your openness to new, Kingdom of God ways of thinking. Do you trust Jesus enough to allow him to challenge your long-held beliefs and paradigms?
Stay with this question for a while and talk openly to Jesus about any fears or reservations you notice in yourself.
Read Matthew 19:10-12 again noting anything new that stands out.
Some years after Jesus’ death and resurrection, the Apostle Paul will take up not only the subject of celibacy in his writings (1 Corinthians 7), but also the subject of Kingdom thinking and the transformation of our minds (1 Corinthians 2:10-16, Romans 12:2).
Take a few moments to meditate on these words from Paul’s letter to the Jesus followers in and around Rome:
“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” – Romans 12:1-2
Now get still and listen to Jesus.
What do you sense Jesus saying to you today?
What will you do about it?
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