Verse: Matthew 11:16-17
“To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: “ ‘We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’
Devotion
As a kid the part of the day I looked forward to the most was recess. We would play Four Square, Football, Basketball, Tag, anything and everything. It was OUR time. We got to make the rules and play with little to no supervision. It was amazing. But do you also remember the fights? We used to argue and fight about the rules, about the way the game was played, about fouls and “out of bounds” and really anything that inhibited us from winning. The ultimate power move was when one kid would say, “I’m taking my ball and leaving.” Do you remember that kid?!?! (Maybe you WERE that kid!)
Jesus is accusing the Jews who didn’t follow him of being similar to that kid. He’s saying “no matter what tune we play, we can’t satisfy you.” Basically, they weren’t happy with John the Baptist OR Jesus – even though the two of them presented the message very differently. And they weren’t happy because neither John the Baptist nor Jesus played the game they way they wanted them to.
Some of the Jews at that time had a very specific thing they were looking for in the Messiah, and because he didn’t meet it, they refused to follow him. It was “my way or the highway,” or “if you don’t play my way I’m taking my ball and going home!”
Applying this to our lives, do we do this? “God I don’t like the way you would call me to handle this situation so I’m going to do it my way.” I know at times I am tempted to do this for sure! I like things done my way. I like being in charge. I like to be right! And often what God calls me to is an invitation to lay down “may way,” to sacrifice what I would prefer, to be humbled, and to put others first. I wonder if Jesus is ever saying to me, “I went right and you didn’t like it, I went left and you didn’t like it, sometimes it feels like you are only satisfied if I do it your way.” Hmmmm.
My prayer for myself and for you is that we can humble ourselves and say, “not my way, but your way God.” I want to play according to God’s rules, not mine. I want to be in HIS GAME not my game. I want to dance to whatever tune he’s playing. John Wimber used to say, “I’m a fool for Christ, whose fool are you?” I love that. We are all dancing to someone’s tune aren’t we? I want to make sure it’s God’s.
Author: Christian Dunn
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