You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. John 5:39,40REFLECTION
Often we are so focused on studying and knowing that we tend to forget that faith is all about simply hearing and believing. Of course you have to make many choices with your head, but the biggest decisions about love and life are not matters of the intellect; they are matters of the heart! Just like the Jewish teachers of the law we are frequently looking for clues, trying to break the big questions of faith into smaller ones that we can get our head around. But by doing so, we forget that we are dealing with the greatest mysteries of life and the wisdom of our eternal God. We can only look at things from a very limited, human perspective. Why is it so hard to simply surrender to Jesus and accept that he is the only source of life? Just come to Jesus with a repenting heart, ask him for forgiveness, accept his gift of grace and receive eternal life. Heaven is a gift, not a reward. All you have to do is say, ‘Thank you, Lord Jesus!’ and the door will be opened.
PRAYER
Dear Lord, you gave us intellect and a free will to make decisions. There are so many good things that we can do with our brains, but so often we only use them to worry and lose sleep over trivial questions. This is what matters most: you took all our sins and carried them away on the cross. I believe that you conquered death by rising from the grave on the third day. I believe that you are the Son of God and the only true source of eternal life. Deep down in my heart I’ve made this decision to surrender to you, to love you and to follow you faithfully. Do I always understand your ways, Lord? No, I don’t. But I do believe that God’s ways are higher than my ways and I trust you as my guide through life. Help me to tell other people about you; please let many of them open their hearts for your message of love so that they can receive your gift of eternal life too!
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2 comments:
Good devotional, Paul.
The gift of God's Grace is so easy to have, but the pull of worldly things makes it so difficult to accept.
I am so thankful that God loves us so much, and that He wants us to be with Him in His Glory!
The passage you cite is framed by magnificent miracles. Before it, the woman at the well, the healing of the official’s son and the Bethesda pool healing; after it, the feeding of the 5000 and walking on water. So it is staggering to think that his listeners didn’t accept his deeds as the fulfillment of Scripture.
Today my neighbors are preparing for Passover. This is a great time to think of Jesus’ “testimony weightier than that of John…” The Seder ceremony is prophetic, as was, of course, the Passover itself.
For a Christian, experiencing a Seder in a Jewish household is a great gift. To cite one example, my Jewish neighbors place three matzos in a napkin. There are varying explanations for this tradition, but to me the obvious one to me is the Trinity. At one point, the middle matzo is broken, hidden (buried) and at the end of the evening a small portion is eaten by each person present, “in memory of the Passover lamb.” Oddly enough, the Passover lamb itself has disappeared from the Seder, except the leg bone (the shank). Why is that?
My neighbors don’t see the Messiah prefigured in the Seder, and they grow very uncomfortable if connections are drawn between the Seder and Jesus. I think it’s interesting that in the same passage Jesus later said, “If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?" (John 5:46-47)
I believe God calls to our hearts. For that reason, I think it’s important to pray for non-believers, even if you think it’s impossible for their hearts to ever soften. I don’t think such prayer is ever wasted.
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