Luke 13:1-9

“He asked them, ‘Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans?’” vs. 2

Occasionally we catch a glimpse of everyday events in scripture, a little window into what kind of things happened perhaps on a daily basis. In this little fragment saved by Luke we find out that there had been some deaths in the city of Jerusalem, several caused by an act of terror by Pilate, the Roman governor, and eighteen others killed in a construction accident. Then, as now, it was thought that the victims were being punished for their sins, but Jesus quickly corrects that foolish thinking. Sometimes stuff just happens and innocent people are killed–we might not like it, but that’s how life is! But then Jesus goes on to say that there are consequences for careless living, and he warns his listeners to shape up. From the beginning of his ministry he’d been telling people to repent, to completely change the direction of their lives. As people weaned on grace we don’t really like that message–we’d rather be told that there is no need to change, that we can keep on doing dumb stuff and that’ll be okay. But that’s not how it is! Our life in Christ will be marked with continual repentance and change, and we’ll be loved every step of the way. God loves us too much to allow us to stay the way we are!

Thought for the Day: How do I need to change?