Saturday, October 31, 2009

John 13:1-35

It was only a matter of hours before Jesus would be wrongfully arrested. Had he been like most people, he would have been running- looking for a place where they couldn't find him. John 13:1 tells us that "Jesus knew His hour had come..." He knew that very soon they were coming to arrest him, and that He would be tried and found guilty, and crucified.

But unlike us, Jesus didn't flee and leave His disciples behind. "He loved them to the end...(vs:1)." He stayed with them, knowing the danger, and had that famous Last Supper with them. Also unlike us, He didn't use His last hours of freedom on this earth to bitterly complain about the injustices of what was about to happen to Him, or to curse Judas Iscariot who had betrayed him. Instead, He used the last few hours to minister to his disciples (washing their feet)! And after He had done this, He taught them that as He had served them, they also should serve one another. That this - their love for one another - was the way that everyone would know they were His disciples.

As those who have known His grace and love, we need to ask ourselves whether people can tell that we belong to Him by the way they see us conduct ourselves. Do our attitudes and actions remind others of Jesus- or, are we still entangled in the ways of the flesh? Every day we have to make the choice to let Jesus shine in us and through us. We have to follow Him- the example He gave us, rather than following what our human nature demands.

We all struggle against the temptation to grumble and complain, to criticize and to bear a grudge.

Let us daily make the choice- and ask Him to give us the strength by His Holy Spirit to live our lives and to conduct ourselves as Children of God so that He can be glorified through us.

*photo courtesy of:

No comments: