PODCAST
Handle With Care
April 12th, 2011
Luke 19:45—20:8
I’ve found myself misusing tools across the years. I’ve broken shovels when I should have used a pick. I’ve used screwdrivers for purposes they were not intended. As you can guess, I’m not much of a handyman.
Jesus found people using the temple for a purpose for which it was not created. Providing an opportunity to purchase animals for sacrifice, a noble cause, had turned into a business. The presence of noisy bartering replaced the holy reverence of God. He’d had enough.
This was not a time for a story, but for action. Luke says, “He . . . began driving out those who were selling.” He followed it up with a sentence of purpose, “My house will be a house of prayer.”
It would be a good discipline for us to regularly stop and make sure we are using what God has given us for its intended purpose. Matters like our worship, the handling of the Word, the care of our world, the work of the church all demand that we not misuse what he’s entrusted to us.
