07/21/2023
Have we placed Jesus first and foremost as our teacher? What is the danger in this? Why is it more important that we put Jesus the redeemer before Jesus the teacher?
“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:3 KJV
I read the devotional message of Oswald Chambers this morning and he was speaking of the futility of trying to live as Jesus did... perfectly... and to attain a Christ-like state of purity by merely reading His teaching and then attempting to imitate Him. I thought of how we are often instructed to ask ourselves "what would Jesus do?" Even before we understand the deeper and more enabling question of His redemption… "Why would Jesus do this?" Let's read a brief statement by Chambers...
"... when I am born again by the Spirit of God, I know that Jesus Christ did not come to teach only: He came to make me what He teaches I should be. The Redemption means that Jesus Christ can put into any man the disposition that ruled His own life, and all the standards God gives are based on that disposition." - Oswald Chambers
Hmmmm... Can I truly be like Jesus without first receiving His redemption? Am I simply being judged by my actions, or is the more telling judgement being passed by weighing my actions by why I do them, and what is in my heart?
Before all else Jesus loved God. Without this, then all of His perfect obedience was worthless; it was just mechanical repetition; it was another indictment of humanity... more laws to follow. If all we have is imitation then we are like a child's toy that gets wound up and then set on the ground to robotically go through a set of motions.
Even if I could do unto my neighbor as I would have Him do unto me, is that good enough, or should I be doing these things out of my love for them, and a desire to please the Father? Do I long to do His will with all my heart? Until I receive the true gift of Jesus Christ, then all that is left for me are the mechanics of His teachings, and to do as He did as if I were a wind-up toy. What pleasure is there in this for God... or satisfaction for ourselves?
So before we begin to act as Jesus did we need to understand why, and claim the redemption He offers; we need to understand this pivotal message...
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”
John 3:16-17 KJV
The gift of Jesus, the culmination of the grand plan that began with creation, all comes down to the simple message "For God so loved the world." Jesus taught us many things, but the message was much more than "Do this!" It was "Look at this!", and “abide in this!”... and the “this” was to base our relationship with God on love.
There is an old saying that often holds a great deal of truth for us as men; it goes like this...
"Those who can, do, those who can't teach, and those who can do neither administer." - Calvin Calverley
Well in the case of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, they are able to “do” all three! Jesus did, the Holy Spirit teaches, and God administers. Yet without the foundational ingredient of love, none of this has the importance and meaning that God desired from the moment of creation. We often forget that all of creation was made for man... not the other way around.
Jesus wasn't the harbinger of the end of creation, or sent to deliver another set of laws... although He did both... He was sent to reawaken in us the message of God's love for mankind, and to show, and serve us, as our redemption from sin. Jesus is the emissary sent with the peace plan of God... the one that says all is forgiven, that reestablishes tranquility, and then seals this plan with His own blood.
So yes... we are poor in spirit and have nothing without Jesus. We beg at His feet for the very redemption He brings... and He blesses us. Then, once blessed and lifted up, we follow His lessons with our heart properly aligned. Until we receive His redemption we have nothing, and are only shadows of what God intends us to be.
Attempting to simply imitate Jesus is dangerous because it gives us false hope in our own ability. It isn't until we accept Him as God's gift of love and forgiveness that following Him makes sense. It would be like reading the Declaration of Independence and not grasping the concept of liberty, or living in marriage without an understanding of love. Jesus is first and foremost the redeemer, and then after that, He teaches us of living the life of the redeemed.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your Son Jesus Christ! Thank you for your love and redemption through His life, death, resurrection, and ascension. Thank you Father for the promise of His return, and the lessons He left us that will sustain us until that day. Your love for us is humbling, and has circumcised our hearts... it lays bare the longing we have for you and brings our desire for your presence to new heights through our burgeoning faith. You are our God and in you we find peace and a love that knows no bounds. Our relationship was established from the first word of creation, and your will for us was sealed from before the very void and darkness that was upon the face of the deep. You desired for us to know and love you Father, and then you began to make that possible, and to teach us how. This is the gift of Jesus. He came to reestablish our relationship with you, and then to teach us of true love once more. Holy is He, and Holy, Holy, Holy, are you... our God Almighty! Have mercy Father, on us who are poor in spirit, and pour out your grace upon us who deserve nothing without our acceptance of the redeeming blood of Christ. Praised be your name Lord, now and forevermore.
Rich Forbes