Have you ever been mad? Not crazy mad. But hot-under-the-collar mad. So mad you couldn’t see straight. So mad you wanted God to do something…like oh…call-down-fire-from-heaven-mad.  You probably know where I’m going with this. It was the time in the ministry of Jesus they were heading to Samaria and the Samaritans said, “No way are you coming into our town. You aren’t welcome here!”

That’s a fine how-do-you-do. It wasn’t really Jesus they had an issue with; it was all Jews. So what do James and John suggest? A nice pow wow? Nope, not on your life. “Jesus, is it okay if we call down fire from heaven on them?” I suggest they might have wanted to add: “You know, make ’em toast like Sodom and Gomorrah. That will teach them a lesson.”

Jesus wasn’t going to allow that, thereby setting an example for us of what to do when we are rejected. There is another, perhaps deeper meaning happening here also. Not always will people agree with us. It might even get testy. We then have a choice: stick to our guns and blast away or lay our weapons aside for the sake of peace and love one another. Sometimes being dogmatic is not the way to go. Our greater purpose is not to (always) be right but to love. When we are challenged, love. When we are hurt, love. When we are proven wrong, love.

Let’s keep our eyes off people and their motives, reactions, rightness or wrongness, and keep our eyes on Jesus. “And that is my prayer this morning Father. Today, help me to keep my eyes on You.”