Mark 3:5-6
And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.
If someone accuses you of not seeing the forest for the trees, you may have been confused by the idiom. It simply means you have paid so much attention to a detail and missed the overall importance of something. It may be a project or a topic of discussion. The Pharisees were watching the Creator of the universe perform a miraculous healing. They knew he was going to do it but the most important detail on their minds was not the changed life of the man or the power of God. It was the day of the week. It was the Sabbath and such things just aren’t done on that day. Imagine the anger of Jesus.
I shudder to think if Jesus would look at us in anger because of our propensity to major in the minors. There are many trees that can take our eyes off the forest. We call these secondary and tertiary issues. It is important to discuss and debate these issues but not to lose focus on the mission, to make disciples and love our neighbor. If we find ourselves devoting so much time to trees that we forget that there even is a forest, let’s make today the day that we branches gaze on the majesty of the Vine that is Jesus Christ.
Dear Lord, thank you for the great creation that is the gospel message. Help us to focus on love, gentleness, respect, and humility today. In Jesus’ name. Amen.