Heads And Tails

Once the coin is tossed its like the decision is out of your hands and your fate is on the head or tail that will land face up.  While one element is essential in making a decision, the coin is useless without both elements.

Matthew 23.13-39

Reference:  v.23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!  You give a tenth of your spices – mint, dill and cummin.  But you have neglected the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness.  You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.” (NIV Bible)

Explore:  Coins are very handy in helping make a fair decision.  Flip a coin and it will decide between two options.  Heads are allocated for one choice and tails for the other.  Once the coin is tossed its like the decision is out of your hands and your fate is on the head or tail that will land face up.  While one element is essential in making a decision, the coin is useless without both elements.  If I went to buy something from the shops using a coin with only a head and no tail, the cashier would not accept my coin as it would be considered a fake. A true coin must have both a head and a tail.
This is the same when it comes to our faith as well.  We can’t just give half of ourselves to follow Jesus, He requires the whole deal.  The Pharisees were willing to follow the parts of the law that came easily to them or made them look good.  However Jesus reminded them that all law should be practiced.

Application:  We often find that an element of faith comes more naturally to some than others.  I know fellow Christians who delight in taking off for a couple of days in silent retreat, whereas others struggle at the thought of spending 5 minutes silence in prayer.  Some people love to grapple with and discuss the greater theological questions of the time, whereas others much prefer to just get out and get their hands dirty by helping others.  While we may find it easier to build our faith in God with the discipleship element that we enjoy the most, it is so important for us to exercise our faith through a diverse range of ways.  God can connect with us through so many different means.  We limit ourselves and our faith if we just stick with one expression.  God desires our heart, our soul, our mind and our strength.  Let’s not hold anything back from him.

Prayer:  Lord, you are so diverse that we can find you in all places.  May we look to explore your depth even further today.  Amen.

What different expression of worship have you tried that helped you connect with God in a way that you never expected?

Matthew