February 11 | Luke 7:31-35
- Pamela Mann
- Feb 11
- 3 min read
DAILY READING
REFLECTION
No Pleasing Some Folks
By Pam Mann
Granny used to say, “There‘s no pleasing some folks.” Her one-liner gets at the heart of what Jesus describes in the children’s verse he quotes to his audience in Luke 7. The Pharisees and experts in the law didn’t like John the Baptist and his fasting. Nor did they like Jesus and his feasting with outcasts. Yep, there’s no pleasing some folks.
The scary thing is that these law experts themselves, while vehemently displeased with John and Jesus, likely thought they were the good guys. They were certain they knew what God wanted. They knew the law to the nth degree and were busy at teaching others what they knew. John and Jesus were annoying to these well-intentioned enthusiasts because neither John nor Jesus looked to the “experts” for enlightenment.
What a tragic irony that the great religious leaders recognized neither their long-awaited Messiah nor his forerunner in their midst! Does this same tragedy recur in our day? Can we as believers become so entrenched in our long-time habits that we might miss God at work among us in unexpected ways? Do we make ourselves master of our faith practices or is God the Master and Leader of all we do? Do we pray, “Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest,” and not look for Him to come and do new things?
When we can look at the tension between Jesus and his contemporary religious leaders from a distance, we easily discern the leaders’ lack of humility and their closed minds. In our own situation, it’s far more difficult to acknowledge our own hardness of heart and stiff necks when God is beckoning us in a new direction.
How do we cultivate humility within ourselves before God so that we are not resistant to God
on the move among us? Consider what the Lord said to Paul in the midst of his missionary journey challenges in a vision in Acts 18:9-10: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” The city to which God refers in Acts is Corinth, but what about Columbus or the town where you live? Is God not also at work in our day and in our city?
Heaven forbid that we should expect Jesus to please us as the disgruntled folks in Luke 7 did. Rather let us commit to humility, before God, so that the Lord might say of our locale: “I have many people in this city.” The kingdom of God doesn’t need cranky critics on the sidelines. Instead, God calls us to jump in with Him in His kingdom’s coming.
PRAYER
Thank you, Father, that we get to join You where Your Spirit moves. Cleanse us of our grumbling spirits. Train us to be a ready people for You in our city. Amen.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PAM MANN
I first joined UALC when my husband (then my fiancé) and I were college students involved in youth ministry. God has used UALC to nurture our family’s faith, even in our years outside the U.S. I’ve participated in UALC ministries with kids, art, prayer, exercise, ESL, and Bible teaching. I do all the fun church things.
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