The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in John 16:1-4a,
"All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them."
We read in John's gospel that the Lord prepared his disciples for his arrest, crucifixion, burial and resurrection before those events took place. There was nothing about the mission of his earthly ministry that he did not execute flawlessly. Preparing his disciples was one of those.
I note he told his disciples that they would be shunned by their community by putting them out of the synagogue. For those of you who are plugged into social media, this was much worse than being banned from Facebook or Twitter as it impacted every area of their lives and was significant in their communities and families.
Worse than that, the Lord said, "the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God." Did you catch that? "When anyone kills you..." That happened! He went on to say, "I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them."
When unbelievers were to carry out their nefarious actions against God's people, the Lord didn't say he would keep it from happening. On the contrary, martyrdom was significant in the early church (and right up to today!) For various reasons, the Lord allows suffering on our parts as something he uses to accomplish things in our lives, in the lives of others and for the pursuit of his redemptive activities. Paul said, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." Romans 8:18.
In the context of this conversation Jesus had with his disciples, he was preparing them for the grief they would experience upon his crucifixion. He told them, "Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy." Verses 20-22.
So too for us. We should have that same "long view" today. We may (will) suffer in this life, but our eyes need to be fixed on things above, on the Lord, where we are headed for eternity, where we find our joy. "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." Colossians 3:1-4.
Don't believe the hype found in so many churches today, that because God loves us he will keep bad things from our lives. That is a false message. The truth is that many of us believers will see bad things come into our lives. The message should be that the Lord is right there with us, we are not on our own, and as we face them, we take that "long view" and know, "in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
"All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them."
We read in John's gospel that the Lord prepared his disciples for his arrest, crucifixion, burial and resurrection before those events took place. There was nothing about the mission of his earthly ministry that he did not execute flawlessly. Preparing his disciples was one of those.
I note he told his disciples that they would be shunned by their community by putting them out of the synagogue. For those of you who are plugged into social media, this was much worse than being banned from Facebook or Twitter as it impacted every area of their lives and was significant in their communities and families.
Worse than that, the Lord said, "the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God." Did you catch that? "When anyone kills you..." That happened! He went on to say, "I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them."
When unbelievers were to carry out their nefarious actions against God's people, the Lord didn't say he would keep it from happening. On the contrary, martyrdom was significant in the early church (and right up to today!) For various reasons, the Lord allows suffering on our parts as something he uses to accomplish things in our lives, in the lives of others and for the pursuit of his redemptive activities. Paul said, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." Romans 8:18.
In the context of this conversation Jesus had with his disciples, he was preparing them for the grief they would experience upon his crucifixion. He told them, "Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy." Verses 20-22.
So too for us. We should have that same "long view" today. We may (will) suffer in this life, but our eyes need to be fixed on things above, on the Lord, where we are headed for eternity, where we find our joy. "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." Colossians 3:1-4.
Don't believe the hype found in so many churches today, that because God loves us he will keep bad things from our lives. That is a false message. The truth is that many of us believers will see bad things come into our lives. The message should be that the Lord is right there with us, we are not on our own, and as we face them, we take that "long view" and know, "in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
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