02/15/2018
Do we concern ourselves too much with the state of the world around us? Do we judge our faith, not on the righteousness that we come to know, but on the impact we perceive we are having on the society and church we live in? If we do that, then we are setting ourselves up for depression, and for viewing ourselves as being deficient... failures. So what are we to do? How can we avoid this pitfall? We are to become like Jesus.
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”
Philippians 2:3-7 ESV
Ask yourself this... aside from a few disciples, what did Jesus leave behind when they placed Him in a borrowed tomb? He didn’t write a single word... no book, no pamphlet, and not even a simple note. He built no churches, no altars, not even a pile of stones. He left no livestock, and in the end had no cloak to cover Him, or scrap of food to call His own. He left no image, no drawing, no painting. He didn’t leave a creed, or any semblance of a new statement of faith, and in His death He didn’t even leave a gravestone or a corpse. No, He left nothing; He appeared totally as if He were a man of this world, and yet he was not. He was absorbed with talking, teaching, preparing His disciples, praying, and doing God’s will.
So what then was Jesus if He was none of these things? He was a “that”, not the builder of things, but “that” of which men write, and the “that” which men point to and say they want to be like. He wasn’t the fountain, but the water “that” poured from it. He was “that” idea of humility, “that” perfection of Spirit, “that” Son in whom His Father was pleased, “that” man whose body and blood was consumed, “that” man whose face was beaten unrecognizable, “that” unblemished sacrifice, “that” unrecognized traveler on the road to Emmaus, “that” man who was the Great I Am, and “that” Son who sits at His Father’s right hand.
We are now in the season of Lent, a time of our own personal giving up and self-sacrifice. These are the days of the year in which we commemorate Christ’s time in the wilderness after His baptism by John. Jesus wandered in the desert for forty days and forty nights without food, but in fact he didn’t give up anything because He had nothing to give. He wasn’t in the desert to lose something... He was there to gain it, to hone it, and indeed to find it in its fullness. Do we concentrate too much on what He lacked, and not enough on what He gained, and eventually gave?
“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread."”
Matthew 4:1-3 ESV
After forty days of fasting, and praying, Jesus was more than He was when He entered into the wilderness. Yet, Satan looked at him and probably smiled, because here was a man who looked weak, and vulnerable. His body was decimated by the lack of food, and His mind clouded by His condition. He was weaker than even Job, and looked more easily tempted than Peter. Now was the time to woo Him, now was the moment of temptation. In this perceived weakness the devil came to Him, but what he found in this starving and frail body was a spirit of immense proportion. He found the perfection of faith, the completion of righteousness, and the pentacle of sanctification. Satan failed.
“Then Jesus said to him, "Be gone, Satan! For it is written, "'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'"”
Matthew 4:10 ESV
In the wilderness Jesus fasted, and yet His faith increased, He fasted, and God’s Will became clearer, and He fasted as His lineage and purpose became more obvious to Him. Jesus reached the fullness of God, and man. So what did He give up, and what did He gain? He gave up nothing because He had nothing of this world to give, and He gained the foresight of His suffering, sacrifice, and ascension to God’s side.
All that Jesus had to give He gave on the cross... He gave us more than just His life, He gave us intangible things like His love, counsel, and those things the Father imparted to Him... such as forgiveness, and redemption, but not a single grain of sand that we could say He had possessed.
Do we concern ourselves too much with the things of this world? Do we make ourselves vulnerable to feelings like depression, anxiety, and even pride by placing our faith in worldly things? How would Jesus act today, and what would He claim as His? What things would He have, and what things would He give? Are we ready to join Him in the wilderness?
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for your Son Jesus Christ who you sent to teach me of sacrifice, the importance of your will, and the precious nature of faith in you. I thank you for allowing me to see that those treasures, and things of great importance are not made up of worldly material, but the vapor of faith, Spirit, and Truth. I praise you from this place, and yet I long to be with you always. I see how you provided for Jesus, and I yearn for that relationship with you. My faith is strengthened as I meet you in the wilderness, not by what I give up, but by what you give me. There is nothing I have that is of value beyond the grave, and nothing more precious to me than the grace you provide. Father, I listen to the wisdom of your Holy Spirit, and realize that there is no knowledge more valuable than my understanding of your will for me. Lead me Jesus by your example, teach me Father by your Word, and enlighten me Holy Spirit even as you bring me into the Joy and Comfort of the Father. Give me words of praise so that I can worship you more completely, and teach my soul to sing so that I might join the psalmist in the music of our faith. Praised be your name always, for great are thou Holy Father. Guide my steps through the wilderness with a song of you on my lips because only you are Holy Lord, and only in you can I find my holiness, and the treasure of Christ your Son.
Rich Forbes