Good Trouble for God

<p>One day, a sixth-grade student noticed a classmate cutting his arm with a small razor. Trying to do the right thing, she took it from him and threw it away. Surprisingly, instead of being commended for her act, she received a ten-day school suspension. Why? She briefly had the razor in her possession&mdash;something not allowed at school. Asked if she would do it again, she replied: &ldquo;Even if I got in trouble, . . . I would do it again.&rdquo; Just as this girl&rsquo;s act of trying to do good got her into trouble at her school (her suspension was later reversed), Jesus&rsquo; act of kingdom intervention got Him into good trouble with religious leaders.</p> <p>The Pharisees interpreted Jesus&rsquo; healing a man with a deformed hand as a violation of their rules. Christ told them if God&rsquo;s people were allowed to care for animals in dire situations on the Sabbath, &ldquo;how much more valuable is a person than a sheep!&rdquo; (Matthew 12:12). Because He&rsquo;s Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus could regulate what is and isn&rsquo;t permitted on it (vv. 6&ndash;8). Knowing that it would offend the religious leaders, He restored the man&rsquo;s hand to wholeness anyway (vv. 13&ndash;14).&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Sometimes believers in Christ can get into &ldquo;good trouble&rdquo;&mdash;doing what&rsquo;s honors Him but what might not make certain people happy&mdash;as they help others in need. When we do, as God guides us, we imitate Jesus and reveal that people are more important than rules and rituals.</p>