Saturday: So Different That They Made a Difference
WEEK 15
SATURDAY
SO DIFFERENT THAT THEY MADE A DIFFERENCE
Matthew 5:13-16
We have been thinking about how many things we do on account of the herd instinct. I write this on September 13, a week after Labor Day; and that is the day when all straw hats are supposed to disappear and be replaced by felt hats. I still have mine on as I sit in this railway station. For the life of me I can’t help feeling “different,” out of step. I laugh at it as silly, but nevertheless it is there. Many succumb to this herd pressure, not only in such trivial matters as wearing straw hats, but in the matter of morals and behavior and life directions. They succumb to a gray, average conformity. They conform, hence do not create.
But the disciples were different, so different that they made a difference. They began to be so creative that they ushered in the mightiest revolution in human affairs this planet has ever seen. They broke with the lower order because they gave themselves to a higher order, the kingdom of God. They surrendered the herd to God. They were no longer supremely loyal to it. They fastened the herd instinct upon the highest order, the kingdom of God. That broke the power of the lower loyalty—the expulsive power of a new affection. This difference of loyalty made such a difference that when people saw the resultant radiance and happiness, some sneered: “They’re full of new wine” (Acts 2:13). They dismissed it as a lower manifestation of living. Others thought it dangerous, because different, and tried to suppress it by threats and force: “They threatened them further, then released them. Because of public support for Peter and John, they couldn’t find a way to punish them” (Acts 4:21). Note “because of public support.” Those under the dominance of the herd didn’t know what to do with those under the dominance of Christ and his kingdom. The disciples’ reply to the command not to speak in this name was simple, “It’s up to you to determine whether it’s right before God to obey you rather than God. As for us, we can’t stop speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19-20). They had slipped out from under the dominance of the herd and were baffling to those still under its dominance. You cannot escape, struggle with, or succumb to the herd—you must surrender it to God.
O Lord, to get free from the herd we must be bound to you in a supreme loyalty. Obeying you we can bend the knee to nothing else. Then we stand straight. Amen.
AFFIRMATION FOR THE DAY: I will love people with the emancipating love of Christ.