By David O. Dykes
Learning to ride a bicycle is hard because you have to learn balance. When my daughters were learning, we bought them little bicycles with training wheels. They were small wheels attached to the bike that kept it from falling over. Training wheels made it easier to learn how to balance the bike. God’s laws are like training wheels. They help you as you begin to learn how to balance freedom with responsibility.
But training wheels on a bike are only temporary. When Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France, I didn’t see any training wheels on his bicycle, did you? As you grow as a Christian, you can learn how to balance your life on God’s two primary commands: love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. You won’t need the training wheels of all the rules and regulations of the Bible. A legalist is still using training wheels.
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Jesus said you "Shall know the truth and the truth will set you free!" (
John 8:32). But the truth will make you mad (angry) before it sets you free! You may not be bent out of shape like the crippled woman, but are you bent out of shape like the man crippled by legalism and rules? Jesus wants to set you free today. The word bent can be used as an adverb, meaning "to have a strong inclination or disposition." We see some people:
III. Bent on the Joy of God’s Kingdom! (vv. 17-21)Let’s read the rest of our passage beginning in verse 17:
"When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing. Then Jesus asked, ‘What is the Kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches.’ Again he asked, ‘What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.’"Jesus’ statement about setting animals free on the Sabbath was a powerful repartee that shamed the religious legalists. In light of verse 17 ask yourself:
Am I delighted about all the wonderful things God is doing in our church? Or am I a little skeptical? The common people heard Jesus gladly, but the religious people stayed irritated. It’s still true today. These two simple parables of the Kingdom explain why we should be full of joy. The Kingdom of God is not a bunch of rules; it’s having a personal relationship with the King.
One of the best definitions of the Kingdom of God is found in
Romans 14:17, "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking [religious rules], but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit." You are enjoying the Kingdom when the Holy Ghost of God is filling your life and you have right standing before the Father. In addition, you have inner peace and a joy that can’t be contained.