John 4:34
Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to complete his work.
As John 12 begins, Jesus returns to Bethany for dinner with Mary, Martha, their res...urrected brother Lazarus, and others. Suddenly, Mary does something very dramatic in verse 3: "Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair."
This was no small act. Verse 5 tells us the perfume was worth a year's wages! Judas Iscariot, who would betray Jesus in less than a week, seems to have a very godly response to this act, saying, "That perfume . . . should have been sold and the money given to the poor" (verse 5 NLT).
Jesus replies to Judas in verses 7–8 by saying, "Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always."
This reminds us that God sees things differently than we do. It's worth noting that every time we read of Mary in Scripture, she is sitting at Jesus' feet. Perhaps this is why she had such deep spiritual insight.
Mary seemed to grasp a truth that was largely missed by the others: Jesus had to die. Not only did she have a unique understanding of who He was, but she also gave Him a wonderful gift—the most precious thing she owned.
Mary was moved to do something unusual, outstanding, and even extravagant to demonstrate her total devotion to Christ. She recognized that Jesus was going to Jerusalem to be betrayed and crucified. Although He had said so very bluntly on previous occasions, the disciples had simply missed it.
How is it that Mary had this incredible spiritual perception? Perhaps it was because of her willingness to set aside everything to be close to Him, to stop what she was doing, choose what was better, and simply sit at His feet.
You may be thinking, "But I don't know what it means to 'sit at His feet.'" If you, like Mary, want to be a spiritually insightful person, then you must learn to be a spiritually listening person. For example, you need to draw near to God in prayer asking Him to speak to you. You need to read the Bible believing it is the very Word of God. You need to listen to the sermon at church, expecting God to speak through it. For Mary, spending time at Jesus' feet changed her perspective, and she wanted to do something for Him. She wanted to show her love in a tangible way. And when you have truly been sitting at His feet, you will want to serve Him too.
Concerning devotional in Discipleship:
To this sense of discipleship which He defined as true discipleship (John. 8:31), the Lord attached very exacting conditions because without them the goal of a disciple—becoming like his teacher (Luke. 6:40), transformed into His image (Rom. 12:1-2)—could and would never occur. These, however, are not to be considered conditions of salvation. Rather, they are a summons to deeper levels of faith and commitment. Discipleship then, as illustrated in the life of Peter, denotes a new direction and a journey, not a state or an arrival. As spelled out in the epistles, discipleship is the process of experiential sanctification whereby the believer, in following and growing in the Lord, is transformed into the mature image of Christ by the Spirit of God (2 Cor. 3:18; Eph. 4:12f).
But just what did the Lord mean by “he cannot be My disciple” in Luke 14:26 and 27? Does He mean he won’t allow such a person to serve or follow him? Or does he mean such a person doesn’t have the ability to make the right choices because, unlike salvation which is totally free, discipleship is costly? In this regard, one might compare the purpose of John’s gospel with that of the other gospels. In the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) the emphasis is on the costliness of following the Lord as a disciple. In John’s gospel, the emphasis is on the freeness of the gospel by believing in Christ.
Another key question is what is meant by the term commitment? Ultimately, as Luke 14 and Romans 12:1 suggest, it means dying to self and allowing the Lord to take complete charge; it means by faith surrendering the right to run one’s life to the control and will of God. To put it another way, commitment means the dedication of one’s life to the revealed will of God; it means the desire and willingness to choose for the Lord and His values regardless of the cost. In essence then, it is a single-minded devotion which entails loving the Lord with all one’s heart. It means putting Him first and thereby seeking first the kingdom of God, the reign and rule of God in one’s life.
Where am I in the matter of commitment or devotion to the Lord? What is there in my life that hinders my availability to the Lord, i.e., what kinds of things affect this in my life? This would include things like one’s drives and goals, treasures or values, fears, longings, one’s level of understanding, unbelief or lack of faith, etc. What about our private time alone seeking to know the Lord more intimately? Following are some key verses that might help us here (Matt. 6:30; 1 Kings 18:21; cf. 1 Pet. 1:13f with 1 John 2:17; Rev. 3:10; Jam. 4:7-10; Jer. 2:13; Phil. 3:9f).
Our capacity to serve the Lord is directly related to our trust and commitment to Him and God’s values and priorities. But single-minded devotion is also an evidence of maturity and insight to what is truly meaningful and has eternal ramifications in life. Commitment, then, or total devotion to the Savior is also an evidence of a maturing faith that has come to grips with the reality of eternal treasures (cf. 2 Cor. 4:16-18; Matt. 6:19-21, 30-34; 1 Pet. 1:17-18). Have total devotion in Christ your first Love.
This was no small act. Verse 5 tells us the perfume was worth a year's wages! Judas Iscariot, who would betray Jesus in less than a week, seems to have a very godly response to this act, saying, "That perfume . . . should have been sold and the money given to the poor" (verse 5 NLT).
Jesus replies to Judas in verses 7–8 by saying, "Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always."
This reminds us that God sees things differently than we do. It's worth noting that every time we read of Mary in Scripture, she is sitting at Jesus' feet. Perhaps this is why she had such deep spiritual insight.
Mary seemed to grasp a truth that was largely missed by the others: Jesus had to die. Not only did she have a unique understanding of who He was, but she also gave Him a wonderful gift—the most precious thing she owned.
Mary was moved to do something unusual, outstanding, and even extravagant to demonstrate her total devotion to Christ. She recognized that Jesus was going to Jerusalem to be betrayed and crucified. Although He had said so very bluntly on previous occasions, the disciples had simply missed it.
How is it that Mary had this incredible spiritual perception? Perhaps it was because of her willingness to set aside everything to be close to Him, to stop what she was doing, choose what was better, and simply sit at His feet.
You may be thinking, "But I don't know what it means to 'sit at His feet.'" If you, like Mary, want to be a spiritually insightful person, then you must learn to be a spiritually listening person. For example, you need to draw near to God in prayer asking Him to speak to you. You need to read the Bible believing it is the very Word of God. You need to listen to the sermon at church, expecting God to speak through it. For Mary, spending time at Jesus' feet changed her perspective, and she wanted to do something for Him. She wanted to show her love in a tangible way. And when you have truly been sitting at His feet, you will want to serve Him too.
Concerning devotional in Discipleship:
To this sense of discipleship which He defined as true discipleship (John. 8:31), the Lord attached very exacting conditions because without them the goal of a disciple—becoming like his teacher (Luke. 6:40), transformed into His image (Rom. 12:1-2)—could and would never occur. These, however, are not to be considered conditions of salvation. Rather, they are a summons to deeper levels of faith and commitment. Discipleship then, as illustrated in the life of Peter, denotes a new direction and a journey, not a state or an arrival. As spelled out in the epistles, discipleship is the process of experiential sanctification whereby the believer, in following and growing in the Lord, is transformed into the mature image of Christ by the Spirit of God (2 Cor. 3:18; Eph. 4:12f).
But just what did the Lord mean by “he cannot be My disciple” in Luke 14:26 and 27? Does He mean he won’t allow such a person to serve or follow him? Or does he mean such a person doesn’t have the ability to make the right choices because, unlike salvation which is totally free, discipleship is costly? In this regard, one might compare the purpose of John’s gospel with that of the other gospels. In the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) the emphasis is on the costliness of following the Lord as a disciple. In John’s gospel, the emphasis is on the freeness of the gospel by believing in Christ.
Another key question is what is meant by the term commitment? Ultimately, as Luke 14 and Romans 12:1 suggest, it means dying to self and allowing the Lord to take complete charge; it means by faith surrendering the right to run one’s life to the control and will of God. To put it another way, commitment means the dedication of one’s life to the revealed will of God; it means the desire and willingness to choose for the Lord and His values regardless of the cost. In essence then, it is a single-minded devotion which entails loving the Lord with all one’s heart. It means putting Him first and thereby seeking first the kingdom of God, the reign and rule of God in one’s life.
Where am I in the matter of commitment or devotion to the Lord? What is there in my life that hinders my availability to the Lord, i.e., what kinds of things affect this in my life? This would include things like one’s drives and goals, treasures or values, fears, longings, one’s level of understanding, unbelief or lack of faith, etc. What about our private time alone seeking to know the Lord more intimately? Following are some key verses that might help us here (Matt. 6:30; 1 Kings 18:21; cf. 1 Pet. 1:13f with 1 John 2:17; Rev. 3:10; Jam. 4:7-10; Jer. 2:13; Phil. 3:9f).
Our capacity to serve the Lord is directly related to our trust and commitment to Him and God’s values and priorities. But single-minded devotion is also an evidence of maturity and insight to what is truly meaningful and has eternal ramifications in life. Commitment, then, or total devotion to the Savior is also an evidence of a maturing faith that has come to grips with the reality of eternal treasures (cf. 2 Cor. 4:16-18; Matt. 6:19-21, 30-34; 1 Pet. 1:17-18). Have total devotion in Christ your first Love.
No comments:
Post a Comment