Pastor’s Corner

Good Saturday morning and hopefully a little slower pace is in store for you today.

Which word begins The Declaration of Independence? Is it We or When? Well if you guessed When you were right. However, the second paragraph is the most well known “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal.”

You may be thinking What does that have to do with the Bible? Well let’s move to our next verse in Prov. 12:1 “To learn, you must

love discipline; it is foolish to hate correction.“

Now your thinking “How do these thoughts go together?” We hold these truths — To learn (become wise) you must love discipline

Lets dig deeper— The basis of a productive culture is a recognition that everyone is deserving of respect — in other words we are all equal In other words we can learn from all people.

These were the foundational truths of Hebrew law or actually God’s order; give equal value to all people; slave or free, rich or poor, powerful or weak, etc. We all are humans given the most valuable gift from God and that is life. I think that is the uniqueness of child birth, the first breath taken proving an independent life.

Now that is the basis of discipline, the desire to learn, to recognize you don’t know everything; that others of less lowly station in life have important lessons to pass on.

That was the barrier that the religious leaders of Jesus’ day we’re faced with. How could this

blue collar worker (Jesus the carpenter’s son) possibly know anything about God?

They were not loving; looking for learning , rather they were hating the corrective instruction God was

trying to leave them.

That God loves all men of the world and wants to offer all people salvation. They couldn’t accept that even though that truth was scattered all through the Bible. Rather they saw Jesus coming as a threat to their positions.

He was trying to remind them that they were to be peculiar in the way that they loved everyone equally, in the way that they valued every person in the same way that God does.

Just as we are to love learning — which comes through discipline (order & structure) correction (guidance)

So let’s search for learning from all people in our lives — otherwise we will be doomed to ignorance, failure, and harm.

Loving others regardless of station will naturally bring learning to our life. Remember every person is God’s gift to us all so love them & by that experience God’s hand of instruction or guidance.

Go with God in love and respect and search for what each

person ushered into your life will pass on to you.