PODCAST

Love & Let Live

September 5th, 2012

Acts 15:22-35RG AUDIO 090512

Did you know there is a town in Michigan where it is illegal to paint sparrows to sell them as parakeets? Or, how about a law in Samoa that prohibits husbands from forgetting their wives’ birthdays? (That’s what the internet tells me, anyway.)

I get a good laugh out of looking up crazy laws. I wonder what prompted a legal body to make these things punishable offenses. Sometimes it turns out there were good reasons for a law, though it sounds silly at first.

Have you ever wondered why the Jerusalem Council chose to keep the requirements listed in today’s reading? They’re not as funny-sounding as the ones I mentioned above, but they do sound strange to our modern ears.

By comparing the Jerusalem Council’s verdict with Paul’s treatment of those issues in other places (see 1 Cor. 8, 10:14-31, and Col. 3:5, for example) we come to understand that out of the four requirements, only sexual immorality was inherently wrong. The other three rules were concessions to Jewish Christians out of love and concern for their sensitivities.

The apostles did a good job of balancing concern for others and freedom in Christ. How are you doing?