03/03/2021
Do we look up at the cross and upon seeing Jesus dying there do we think “He is doing this for all of mankind.”? This is a true thought, but Jesus didn’t simply die for “mankind”... He suffered, died, and was resurrected for you and me individually. Until we realize that His relationship isn’t limited to the grand notion of a tribe, nation, people, or even the world, we can’t possibly understand how intimate our salvation is, and that He abides fully in each of us.
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Galatians 2:20 ESV
I watch politicians give grand and emotional speeches about what they are going to do once they’ve been elected, and I may or may not agree with what they are saying, but if they can convince me that they are concerned about my individual welfare, and want to help me with my own personal problems, or advance ideas that I can relate to in my life... then they have my support and my my vote. As people of faith our eyes are often opened when we read that God sent Jesus because He “so loved the world”, but we come to Jesus Christ by the thousands, and millions, and fall passionately in love with Him when we realize that He loves more than a group or an idea... He loves and abides in “ME!”... our relationship is an absolutely personal one.
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.”
John 15:4 ESV
So, would we believe in God, and Jesus Christ by hearing that God so loved the world that he sent His only begotten Son to redeem it? The answer is that a great many would, but many many more will come to know and accept Jesus, and the Father when their relationship becomes an intimate and personal one with them. You see, the cross isn’t just a National, or world, symbol, it is much more than that, it is something you and I are asked to pick up personally, and our walk with him isn’t one we take as part of a crowd, or by following along in a mob... it is specific to each of us. Listen as Jesus tells us it is YOUR cross that He wants picked up, and speaks about how it will profit a MAN, and not just a people... He is speaking to anyONE.
“Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?”
Matthew 16:24-26 ESV
In understanding that our faith is meant to be personal, we come to realize that Jesus died for us individually, that we are to follow Him personally, and that He loves You, and Me, as individual people. In this way we see the cross He has asked us to pick up as being ours alone... it bears our name, and our prayers from it are no longer group or corporate prayers, no, they are secret and intimate. Now when we feed the hungry or clothe the naked, or do any of the other christlike things, we do them out of love... a deep and abiding love entered into with Jesus, and God.
So now we have finished breakfast, our first meal of the day with Jesus; are we ready to answer the real question He will ask? Are we prepared to do the real things that show we are each following Christ?
“When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”
John 21:15, 17 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for loving the world so much that you would send your son to die for us, but we thank you all the more for the love you have for us individually, and the very personal relationship we have entered into with you and Jesus Christ. Our eyes were opened when we came to know you Lord, but our faith has deepened, and became rich, and amazingly wonderful, as we have grown to love you more, and have felt you abiding in us. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who desires a personal relationship with each of us, and for us not only to be your children, but to know us each as your child. We praise you for the plan and will that you have for our lives, and the intimate nature of them. We worship you in spirit and truth Father... not so much as nations, but as individual men and women of faith. Help us Father as we walk singly with you along our ways of faith, and heal our blisters and sore muscles that we will encounter along the way. Hear our prayers and the intercession of Jesus on our behalf as we travel. Find us worthy Lord, and see Jesus in each of us as we pass before you... pure, and righteous... covered by His blood. Your grace is sufficient for me Holy Father, and my trust in you complete. Seat me at a table for three with you and Jesus in the midst of many many such heavenly tables, and let me answer that I love you both, and that I have fed the lambs of Christ in accordance with your will.
Rich Forbes