Gamaliel’s Law

Gamaliel’s Law

Act 5:38-39 “And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God."

Gamaliel was a voice of wisdom in the midst of a violent passion; the voice of calm in the middle of a storm in a tea-cup. He gave a practical voice to Jesus own comments in Mark 9:39-40  “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me,  for whoever is not against us is for us. “ For this is what I call ‘Gamaliel’s Law’ –“Leave things alone. If this is of man it will fail. But if it is of God, you will not stop it and may even find yourself fighting against God.”

So often we give a knee jerk reaction to things around us. So often, probably driven by a kind of fear, we cry, “No,no – Stop. That cannot possibly be right.”, when after all, that which so ‘offends’ us is, all the time, from the Lord. Lacking insight, and trusting our own instincts rather than seeking the Lord, we rush into judgement and condemnation. So often, we criticise without any understanding of God and His thoughts and ways. They, of course, being as high above our thoughts and ways as heaven is above earth, leave us floundering without the wisdom to ask for insight and wisdom. How long will it take us to learn the truth of Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.  “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

So it is that we all need Gamaliel’s Law. A level of wisdom to discern when to fight, when to ride, and when to leave well alone