I suppose that’s one of the ironies of life doing the wrong thing at the right moment. Charlie Chaplin
We all make mistakes. When
we make small mistakes it’s easy to get past them. If we spill our drink on the
dinner table, it may be aggravating, but we simply get something to clean it up
with and move on. The big mistakes we make usually are obvious to others and
may require a lot more than a paper towel to clean up.
A couple, in Fort Worth,
Texas, bought a house from the husband’s aunt, earlier this year. The land the
house sat on had been in their family for decades and the house was near the
shore of Lake Worth. Once they moved into their new retreat, the couple put
their old house in Fort Worth on the market.
Since the property had not
sold yet, they stopped by this past Saturday to mow the grass. When they got
there, the grass did need mowing, but there was no house! All that was left of
their house was a slab for the foundation. Needless to say, the couple was
shocked.
When they investigated,
they found out that the building next door had been condemned by city of Fort
Worth. The city had hired a demolition company to tear down the useless
building, which is still standing. The demolition company billed the city
$6,000 and tore down the wrong structure.
Obviously, this was not a
small mistake. It has affected the demolition company, the city of Fort Worth
and a couple, who simply wanted to sell their house. It may take some time to
sort out who to
blame and who has to pay for the damages. The demolition
company might have gotten the wrong address from the city or they may have made
the mistake themselves. One thing we do know is that all involved will be
pointing the finger at the others and accusing them of being wrong.
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| What's left of the house! |
Most of the time, when
Jesus dealt with people who were in the wrong, He gave them information and let
them draw their own conclusions. This was His way of making them think for
themselves or shielding them from the embarrassment of being called out in
public for their errant thinking. There was only one recorded instance of Jesus
plainly telling someone they were wrong.
Matthew and Mark both
record the account of the Saducees questioning Jesus. The Saducees were a
Jewish sect that did not believe in life after death. They tried to trick Jesus
by asking a question about whose wife a woman would be in Heaven, since she had
been married many times on earth. The question was nonsense for them, because
they didn’t even believe in the resurrection and Jesus called them on it. Jesus
replied, “Are you not therefore mistaken,
because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?” He then went
on to answer the question.
However, it is what Jesus
said next that was so profound. Mark 12: 26-27 reads, But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book
of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him,
saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of
the dead, but the God of the living. You are therefore greatly mistaken.
Did you catch that? God
told Moses that He is the God of three men who had died many years before. So
if God is not a God of the dead, then they must be alive. Then Jesus lowers the
boom that He doesn’t do with anyone else in scripture. He basically says,
“You’re wrong!”
As we all know, we all
make mistakes. The key is to not make the same ones over and over. When you
know it’s wrong, don’t continue to do it. I’m sure that the demolition crew in
Texas will double check the address before they ever tear down another
building. Shouldn’t we learn from our mistakes even more, if the Creator of the
Universe tells us, in no uncertain terms, that we’re wrong?
The Saducees didn’t listen
to Jesus and continued in their errant beliefs. They heard the Word straight
from the mouth of Jesus, but still could not admit that they were wrong. They
learned nothing. Within 40 years of this encounter with Jesus, the entire sect
became extinct.
God has given us His Word
in the Bible. In it, He gives us the way to live a wonderful life. Yes, we will
still make mistakes, but if we follow Him, He will forgive us and put us back
on the right path. Don’t make the greatest mistake a person can ever make, by
not asking Christ to come into your life. Give everything to the Him, mistakes
and all.
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
