Skip to main content

272. The Window to God for the World

John 14:22-24
Key Verse: "If anyone loves Me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our home with him."
John 14:23

The world cannot see God, but they do see us. We are the world's window to God. That is why it is so important that we obey His Will. When we stray, yet claim to be His follower, we not only lie to the world, but obscure the world's view of God through our disobedience.

"Lord, why do You intend to show yourself to us and not to the world," the other Judas asks? The world does not love Jesus because it does not know Him. Not only does it not know or love Him, it has rejected even wanting to know Him. They cannot see Him because they do not believe in Him. It is our responsibility, with Him within us, to woo others to Him so that they can see Him and believe in Him as well.

We are His advertisement to the world. What does the world see of God through us? Jesus said that if we love one another, by this, all will know that we are His disciples. (John 13:34-35) Does the world see a loving, accepting people?

Jesus called us to serve, to go as low as to wash one another's feet! (Mark 10:44-45) & (John 13:12-17) Does the world see a people eager to serve one another, and them?

Does the world see the fruit of the Spirit displayed in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control? (Galatians 5:22-23) Or do they see frazzled, worried people who react and become angry, just like them in tough situations? Do they see you, confident and loving, trusting in your Lord that all will work out for the good, (Rom. 8:28) or do they see someone fretting and gossiping and petty, living no differently than they do. Why should they desire to be a Christian if there is no difference?

"He who does not love Me will not obey My teaching. These words you hear are not My own; they belong to the Father who sent Me." (John 14:24) When we obey His words we are obeying the Father. When we don't obey, we cannot be at one with Him. When we disobey, we pull back from the Oneness. We cannot be one with Him while we are in disagreement. Did you ever see your disobedience as having such serious consequences? Did you realize that when you disobey, you are pulling away from the Father and fracturing the whole? Did you realize that when you disobey, you distort the world’s view of God, like a fun house mirror distorts reality? When you disobey, the world sees you being human and sinful like them, they do not see God in all His glory. They do not see the difference Christ makes.

Remember, as a Christian, our life is His now. "Because I live, you also will live." (John 14:19B) Do not continue to try to drag Him into your life of sin, but let Him pull you into His life of glory. Leave the old life behind and move forward, seeking to become One with Him.

Hymn: "We Are One in the Spirit"

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

211. The Sons of Thunder's Request

Matthew 20:20-28 , Mark 10:35-45 , Key verse: "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all." Mark 10:43B-44 In our readings for yesterday, in which Jesus outlined what was about to happen to Him, for His disciples, the passage in Luke ends: "The disciples did not understand any of this. It's meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what He was talking about." ( Luke 18:34 ) Now, we see just how truly clueless they were. Jesus had laid out a plan before them of pain and suffering and death and now James and John are focused on a promotion. The disconnect is so obvious. It's really not important to know whether James and john came up with this request on their own or if their mother put them up to it. The request was made and James and John thought that they could handle the responsibility that would come with it. What is that saying, "Fools rush in where angels fe...
Post a Comment
Read more

These Boots are Made for Walking

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-15 These Boots are Made for Walking. Of course, I picked that title because it has a reference to popular culture, and it connects with our text today about “feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” I was tempted to play the video of that song, but it’s really not amenable to worship. If you remember that old song, it was quite confrontational. The singer had a righteous complaint against a boyfriend or spouse who was cheating on her. She’s not going to put up with that, and the song goes on to say, “One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you!” And that “take a stand” bravado made her a hero! It was a #1 hit in 1966. I mention it because it has one interesting parallel and one major contrast with the message of grace and forgiveness. That parallel is this. God has a righteous complaint against the entire human race for cheating Him out of the loving relationship He desires with us. As the God who created us, he h...
Post a Comment
Read more

186. Ten Healed, Or One?

Luke 17:11-19 Key Verse: Then He said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well." Luke 17:19 At last, Jesus has left the crowd behind and again is continuing His journey toward Jerusalem. His path takes Him and His disciples along the border of Judea and Samaria, between the pure Jews, and the hated half breeds of the day. On His way, Jesus encounters an interesting group of people. We only learn the nationality of one of them and, though we don't know the nationality of the others, because Jesus sends them to the priests in Jerusalem we can probably assume that at least some of them are Jews. Isn't it interesting that through leprosy, a disease that causes much suffering, the dividing wall of hatred has come down for the sake of companionship? We encountered one leper earlier on our Journey. Lepers were the dreaded untouchables of the day. Their disease cut them off from all they loved. It was a very lonely life. No wonder these people had ...
Post a Comment
Read more