they were told not to hurt

Catching up with a litany of posts. Will try better to take the ten minutes to share the thoughts live. Difficult when discipline is no longer a personal strength but something to be chased after. In any case, take a gander at John5:15-16:

"The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus . . . ."

Been reciting this v for many months now as part of the soaking in of John, but it caught me today for some particular reason, so I assume it was for some greater learning. The v is a reminder that our actions cause a reaction in the Lord. Lord tells us that we are His witnesses, that what we do speaks volumes not only about us, not only about our relationship with Him, but also directly about Him.

I cite stories all the time about the ridiculous actions and words of believers. MSM is waiting to pounce on every mistake made by faithwalkers. Non-believers are waiting for these off-path steps to justify their unbelief. And in this particular story related in John, the result of a man's statements not meant to harm resulted in the persecution of the Son of God. Powerful reminder to mark what you do unless you can imagine yourself enjoying the imagery of the Son on the Cross.