When life has its ups and downs, where do we turn to for comfort and acceptance? In light of our sinfulness, weakness, and frailty, to whom do we seek the love that we desperately need? The verses below show how incredible God’s love is for us, and, since because it’s so amazing, it ought to be our refuge even when discouragements, trials, and sufferings befall our way.
“6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6-8)
What a comfort it is to know that Someone has loved us in all weakness and ungodliness. Christ has loved me even at my worst. Christ saw all my flaws, failures, sins, and backslidings yet He still chose to die for me. This astounding reality provides comfort in times of discouragement, provides rest in times of weariness, and provides peace in times of distress. Knowing that the greatest Being in the universe is my Father and that He sent His beloved Son to die for me in spite of me is truly comforting. There are times in my life that I get so easily discouraged because of the bad circumstances that are happening in my life but I should never forget that the God who controls all my circumstances has loved me with an everlasting love in spite all my weakness, flaws, sinfulness, and frailties. There are times that I seek for love in the wrong places – locations, situations, and relationships – forgetting that the love that I truly need has always been there for me.
Christ has loved me at my worst. He completely knows every filth I did yet He still loves me. He died for me to save me from my sins’ penalty so that I could be forever His and He could be forever mine. What amazing love that is! It is so worthy of our meditation. Even at my worst, He demonstrated His perfect love by dying in behalf of me on the cross so that He could continually bestow upon me the immeasurable riches of His grace.
So when we are at our worst, let us remember that the Person who alone truly matters in this world has loved us and died for us because we are His infinitely valuable bride. At times of despondence and rejection, let us remember the precious death of Christ which is the mountain peak display of His love for us. Discouragements and despondence ought to be blurry in light of the crystal clear loving devotion of Christ towards us. Let us firmly set our hearts on Christ’s love for us because He holds fast and He will never let us go.
There are moments in our Christian lives when we try to live as if what we are doing is more important than who we are becoming. There are times when the things we do for God serve as a mere checklist for the day, week, month, or year to the extent that it overshadows the more important reality of having a right heart in everything that we do for God.
Remember Judas. He heard all of Jesus’ sermons. He witnessed the miracles of Jesus Christ. He even cast out demons and healed diseases with the twelve disciples. But we all knew the drastic ending of Judas, he betrayed Jesus Christ and committed suicide by hanging himself. The tragic example of Judas serves as a warning to us and could happen to us as well. We could do all the right things for God but if our hearts are not right then all the things that we do would be totally useless. We could join all the bible studies, attend prayer meetings, sing in the choir, and serve at church. However, if it comes from a heart that is not set right before God then we are doing is hypocrisy. Then we are just trying to be modern-day Pharisees who are good from the outside but corrupt on the inside. (Matt. 23:25-26) We may deceive others but we could never deceive our all-seeing God who could see through our acts into the deepest intentions of our hearts. (1 Sam. 16:7)
That is why the most important reality is not what we do but what’s happening in our hearts that truly matters before our all-seeing and all-knowing God. Being is more important than doing. Our character and heart condition are more important than all the things that we could do for the Lord because we could just do all the right things for the wrong reasons. May we strive to have a right heart as we do the things that we do for the glory of God and the good of others. Praise God that His mercies are new every morning. There are times in our lives when we fail to honor God in our motivations and our desires but He is also a God who is slow in anger and abounding in steadfast love and is always welcoming with arms wide open to His beloved children. Let us cry out with the psalmist and say, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10)
Is there something that you dearly hold on to because you have worked hard for it? Are there achievements in your life that cause you to have a sense of pride?
If we leave unchecked the influence of these achievements in our hearts then it could puff us up and cause us to put our identity to these things. People who earn huge amounts of money tend to put their identity there. They could feel independent and self-sufficient knowing that they can afford all the needs that they have. People who have many adventures in different places tend to feel that they are living their best lives now because they are more ahead in experiencing adventures than others. People who have worked hard to maintain a good physique by working out in the gym tend to be vain if they put their identity in what they have achieved physically. The list could go on and on.
Sadly, achievement idolatry is not just confined to earning money, adventures, and physicality. It could apply also to seemingly good things that we do for God. If we have done so many things for the Lord, we might forget and place our identity there. We might take pride that we are ministering to more people than others. We might take pride that we have shared the gospel to more people than others. We might take pride that we have conducted more bible studies than others. We might take pride that we have read more books than others. The list of spiritual tasks that could cause us to commit achievement idolatry goes on and on when we forget who we are in Christ. When we forget who we are in Christ, we tend to place our identity in the aforementioned things. We are now defined by what we have done rather than what Christ did for us. That’s why there are times that we get discouraged in our walk with God because we have placed our identity in the wrong things. Our sense of self goes up and down because the things we do for the Lord are also volatile. No tasks in this world could be consistently done. Only God could give us a sense of eternal security and steadfast stability because He is unchanging. Only who we are in Christ makes us people who are shielded from disappointments because we are firmly fixed in what Christ did for us rather than what we could ever do for Him. God has accepted us not based on our performance but based on the perfect performance of Christ. The moment we lose touch that we are children of God and that God is our heavenly Father then we distort seemingly good things that we achieve and try to make it the end rather than the means of having more of God in our lives. Let us never forget who we are. We are bought with the precious blood of Christ. Let us fixed our eyes on Christ, our Prize, and not place our identity in the things we achieve for the Lord knowing that everything is ultimately His. To Him be the glory forever!
We all have moments in our lives wherein when bad circumstances happen to us, we try to shift the blame on others, instead of introspecting within ourselves if there’s something wrong that we did. This blame game already happened since the beginning of time when our forefathers, Adam and Eve, have been deceived by the serpent of old who is satan.
We could see the passage in Genesis 3:8-13. God asked Adam where he was, Adam was afraid of God and hid himself because he was naked. Then God asked why he knew he was naked. This when the blame game starts. Adam blamed God that it was because of the woman whom God gave to him. And then Eve blamed the serpent because the serpent deceived her. It’s worthy to note that what happens way before the beginning of time repeats itself now in every bad circumstances that are happening to us.
Because of our sinful nature, our natural tendency is to be quick to blame others instead of taking responsibility for our failures and wrongdoings. There are times in my life as well when I could catch myself thinking of the wrong things that others did without focusing on the wrong things that I did. Praise be to God that He graciously makes me see my flaws and that He gives me another chance, through his new daily mercies, to ask Him for forgiveness and a fresh start. Praise God that He is a God of infinite chances towards us because we are in Christ. It doesn’t mean to say though that we should abuse His never-ending and infinite graces and mercies but it should be the reason for us to serve Him more. We are loved way more than we could imagine. Time and time again, He has proved His love towards us through His steadfast patience every time we fail Him. Let us seek the mercy of God and stop the blame game. Let us take responsibility for our actions and its consequences. If we find it hard to say sorry to others, let us ask God for the humility and courage that He alone could give.
Where do we get our self-worth? What are the things that make us feel validated? Since we are still in our sinful fallen condition, it is inevitable that there are moments in our lives that we cling to anything aside from God for our self-worth. It could be our financial status, social status, intellect, physique, relationships, experiences, and adventures. These things could be the source of our self-worth. That’s why it’s observable in this world that we chase after these things every time we forget that God alone determines our self-worth. God validates us not on the grounds of anything that is good in us but because of what Christ did for us.
Isn’t that comforting that the God of the universe who is also the Judge of all humanity accepts you, Christian, on the basis of the performance of Another? Isn’t it consoling that we are infinitely loved and infinitely valued because we are covered by the perfect death, perfect life, and perfect resurrection of Christ? The perfect life of Christ is the basis of our acceptance. We don’t need to prove ourselves because Christ has already proven Himself to the Father that He alone is worthy. The perfect death of Christ is the basis of our forgiveness. We don’t need to work hard to pay for the penalty of our sins because Christ already died on our behalf. No matter how much we have worked hard to attain the forgiveness of God, it’s just impossible, because His standard is perfect. Only Christ could satisfy the requirements for heaven because He alone is perfect.
The love of God is so amazing because when God looks at us, He doesn’t see our flaws, failures, and sinfulness because Christ stands between us and God. Jesus Christ is our Shield and Refuge. Let us cling to Him alone. Nothing else could fill our empty jar of hearts except Christ the living Water. Christ alone could quench the insatiable thirst that we have. Unfortunately, we try to look for our self-worth in the wrong places because of our sinfulness. Christ came to firmly fix our gaze on Him who alone is our sole source of worth because He has eternally loved us and proved His love for us through His life, death, and resurrection.
How amazing it is to know that I have an awesome Father. He is awesome in all His ways because He is perfect in knowledge, perfect in love, and perfect in His sovereignty.
My awesome Father is perfect in knowledge. He cannot learn because He fully knows all things. He is perfect in wisdom as well. His plans for us are perfectly good because He has perfectly planned all of it by His perfect wisdom. Our awesome Father, in His perfect knowledge, perfectly knows what’s best for us. How comforting it is to know that in the midst of everything that is happening in our lives, and even in spite of all the brokenness, pain, sufferings, trials, and heartaches, He perfectly knows what He is doing. And, as our loving Father, we are assured that He will never leave us nor forsake us and will do what’s best for us in His beautiful time.
My awesome Father is perfect in love. What comfort it is to know that my awesome Father who perfectly knows me has perfectly love me as well. He set His heart upon me even the foundation of the world. His love is not conditioned on anything that I did or will ever do. It is not based on how good or beautiful I am because I am not. He loves me always in spite of me and not because of me. What great comfort to know that I am fully known and fully loved by my awesome Father; the greatest Being in the universe; the almighty God; the Creator and Sustainer of all things. His estimation of me alone matters. Men’s opinions pale as dung in comparison to my Father’s righteous vindication of me through Christ’s perfect life, perfect death, and perfect resurrection. How amazing it is to know that my awesome Father’s perfect love assures me that He lovingly desires to do what He perfectly thinks what’s best for me. In His perfect love, He perfectly desires to give me what’s best for me.
My awesome Father is perfect in sovereignty. He is in perfect control of everything – from the largest galaxy to tiny specks of dust in the universe. Nothing moves and happens apart from His control. All events happen and are guided by His loving fatherly hand. In His perfect sovereignty, He has the perfectly absolute power to give me what’s best for me. What comfort it is that I am under my Father’s rule. He is my rock my refuge and my protector. Whom shall I fear?
As we meditate on our awesome Father in His perfections – in knowledge, in love, and in His sovereignty, may it humble us that we are merely in the foothills of the infinite incomprehensible mountain of the knowledge of God. Praise be to God that we have all eternity to undeservedly know our perfectly awesome Father. May our hearts be ignited in serving our awesome Father as we meditate upon His awesomeness.
To whom do you cling to when life gives you troubles?
To whom do you hold on to when trials and sufferings come your way?
When problems, trials, and sufferings befall us, there’s always someone, somewhere, or something that we instinctively go for comfort. One of the most obvious thing that we hold onto in this world that we could readily observe when bad things happen to us is relationships. When there are problems at work, we easily turn to trustworthy people in our lives for solution and comfort.
Relationships are blessings from God but if it is the end or the ultimate thing that we go to for comfort then we would just be superficially and temporarily comforted. It’s good to have good relationships between family members, friends, and even husbands or wives (for those who have one) but if it is where we get ultimate comfort in our lives then we could experientially attest that earthly relationships could never totally, completely, and, ultimately comfort us. We deeply know that the comfort that we get from earthly relationships are merely temporary. If earthly relationships bring us the greatest comfort in our lives then why is there still sadness and brokenness when people part ways with us? If the person for whom we cling to for comfort dies then who will comfort us? This is the reason why earthly relationships could never bear the weight of our soul’s longing for permanent comfort because earthly relationships are temporary. Earthly relationships always ultimately end in separation by means of death. The only relationship that could bear the weight of our soul’s longing to be comforted is a relationship that eternal. This relationship could only be found in having relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ.
“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13)
The previous verses say that if we receive and believe Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, God gives us the right to become children of God. What a wonderful reality it is that our greatest comfort in life and death is that God is our heavenly and eternal Father and we are His eternal children. This relationship could never be broken even by the power of death because Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has conquered the power of death because He has risen from the dead. He conquered death because sin has no power over him because He is our sinless substitute and in Him is life itself. That’s why he says in John 11:25 that He is “the resurrection and the life.”
The trinitarian God is our greatest comfort in life. What amazing grace and immeasurable love it is that our heavenly Father has planned what’s best for us, His Son Jesus Christ accomplished the plan because it’s truly what’s best for us, and the Holy Spirit applies in our hearts when the gospel is preached so that we could experience how majestic His plan is for us. The greatest comfort is that we have eternal life full of joy, pleasure, and satisfaction now and a million times more in eternity because of the salvation that is in our Lord Jesus Christ that we receive the moment we genuinely turn away from our sins and cling to Him as Lord and Savior.
Trials, problems, sufferings, sickness, and all the bad things that could happen pale in comparison to the glory that is to be revealed. (Rom. 8:18) Let’s be excited that our greatest comfort in this lifetime is not just merely applicable in this lifetime but it will be our greatest joy forever in our eternal life to come. This is my greatest comfort in life – that I am His and He is mine forever; that I am loved and will never be forsaken by the greatest Being in the universe because He is my Father and I am His beloved child.
I. Christ has Power over our Sufferings [John 11:1-4]
Christ has power over everything; even death. Christ is all-powerful and He can do everything that He pleases in accordance to His perfect will and nature.
We might be saddened over illnesses and death of loved ones just as Mary and Martha were anguished over Lazarus’ illness (John 11:1) and death (John 11:14). But, we should be reminded of the awesome reality that we could take comforting refuge in the perfect power of Christ over every kind of suffering and even death, knowing that, the all-powerful conquering death of Christ caused the death of death.
There are so many things which are beyond our control; just like the unknown and the unforeseeable future but Jesus Christ has complete control over it. He has perfect rule and absolute governance over every atom, molecules, stars, sky, moon, sun, all heavenly bodies, events in history, and over every little details of our lives. Therefore, we could solemnly trust in His perfect sovereignty. We can be at rest knowing that He is our Rest and He is powerful enough to give us rest and everything we rightfully need.
When we come to think of it, we are just the ones who are radically powerless. But praise be to God that Jesus Christ has immense power over all our sufferings. (John 11:4) Let us give every burden to Jesus Christ knowing that we are not alone. One word of the Lord Jesus Christ is sufficient to make us alive in whatever circumstances that harm and kill us just as when He commanded “Lazarus come forth”, and then, Lazarus was resurrected by the resurrecting power of the Resurrection and the Life. (John 11:25)
May we, by the amazing grace of God, increase our trust and dependence to our Lord Jesus Christ knowing that He has power over our sufferings.
II. The Power of Christ is Sovereign [John 11:5-16]
The sovereignty of God means that He has the perfect power to do whatever that pleases Him. Fortunately, Jesus exercises His overruling power in behalf of the whom He loves just as He loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. (John 11:5)
There are times in our lives that we might question God’s working in our lives because we think that God should act in our preconceived timelines but God’s ways are unfathomable. Who would have thought that He would stay two days longer in the place where He was instead of going immediately to the family of Lazarus? (John 11:6) We must always instill in our minds that His perfect will is over ours and His will always happen in His perfect timing not ours.
After two days, Jesus went to Lazarus in Judea (John 11:7) despite the opposing Jews who would stone Him. (John 11:8) What a magnificent, marvelous, and matchless love of Christ! Jesus Christ would always go an “extra mile” to show His love for you and me just as He did to Lazarus.
Jesus did this miracle of resurrection for our sake so that we may believe (John 11:15) that He is truly the Resurrection and the Life. (John 11:25) What an amazing love!
In verse 16, we see the pessimistic brutish heroism of Thomas. He would go with Christ to die with Christ. The succeeding verses say that there’s no harm that fell upon Christ and His disciples. So, assessment of Thomas of the circumstance is unwarranted and untrue. Praise God that our minds are so small and too limited to know the will of God in our lives. That is why, we are always amazed by the fatherly loving hand of Providence working in our lives. Nevertheless, may we be like Thomas who is willing to die with Christ and may we say with the apostle Paul that “to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21) and “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.” (Gal. 2:20).
III. The Power of Christ is Saving and God-glorifying [John 11:17-44]
Praise be to God that we can never save ourselves with our sin-stained hands. Only the unblemished, unstained, and nail-pierced hands on the cross of Calvary can save me from the eternal punishment of my sins.
Despite the fact that Christ extended His stay before going to Judea (John 11:6), He is never late. There might be times in our lives that do not make sense to us but take heart and good courage that Christ is always on time to show His perfect love for you just as He arrived after 4 days in the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:17).
Jesus is sympathetic to our sorrow just as His loving and merciful heart was troubled when He saw the weeping of the family of Lazarus and other Jews (John 11:33). Our loving Savior was deeply moved to the point He turned the mess of sin to a miraculous message of resurrection. (John 11:43-44) It is very comforting to know that Christ is hurt by the things that hurt us.
This is just one of the many miracles recorded in the gospels. Jesus Christ did all these miracles so that we might believe that He is indeed the Son of God and that by believing we have everlasting life and happiness in His precious name. (John 11:42)
It is my prayer that our faith in Christ would increase all the more so that we would all see the glory of God in a much deeper sense. (John 11:40) May our sufferings not go to waste but may it rather be used by God for His glory and the good of others. Just as the circumstance of Lazarus was used by our Lord Jesus Christ to strengthen the faith of His disciples and other people, and most especially, the faith of Thomas.
And as we meditate upon this miracle in the gospel of John, may we be filled with thanksgiving like Jesus Christ (John 11:41). There are countless ordinary blessings we experience from God every day. May we never resort to a spirit of thanklessness but may we “rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thess. 5:16-18)
APPLICATIONS:
A. Take heart. Christ has power over your sufferings.
B. Whatever the difficulty you are in, always trust the sovereign power of Christ in your life.
REFLECTION QUESTION:
How would you answer Christ in John 11:25 – 26?
“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
REFECTION ANSWER:
“Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” (John 11:27)
“But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Galatians 6:14)
I. The Power of the Cross
We see in this phrase the power of the cross: “But far be it from me to boast”. The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is the only thing that we should boast of. Boasting in any form of worldliness and in his flesh is unthinkable for the apostle Paul. We see in this phrase the power of the cross in the life of the apostle Paul that wrought humility in his heart.
How are we lately in our war against pride? Is pride always taking over our hearts? Or is the cross of Christ at work in our hearts to produce the humility that God desires?
Paul had top-notch worldly credentials in his time and context but he considered everything he achieved outside of Christ as rubbish in comparison to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. (Phil. 3:3-8) He was on a completely different level among his peers but he didn’t count his fleshly achievements as something to boast of. Everything is rubbish in comparison to the treasure of knowing Christ. Christ alone is the only boast of the apostle Paul. May this truth be true to us as well.
Our value in life is not derived from our achievements and successes but is only anchored on what Christ did for us on the cross. We are valuable because Christ showed how His unmerited favor towards us on the cross.
II. The Person of the Cross
We see in this phrase the Person of the cross: “except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ”. The Person of the cross is the only boast of the apostle Paul. Because of the cross of Christ, the apostle Paul saw his sinfulness and his inadequacy. Consequently, he saw that there is no grounds for boasting except in the cross of Christ.
Jesus Christ was crushed by His Father because of our sins. He died in our place as our substitute to suffer the punishment due to our sins. (Isa. 53:5-6) Jesus Christ is the most undeserving Person to die on the cross because He is perfect but because of His lavish love towards us, He stood condemned in our place.
III. The Purpose of the Cross
We see in this phrase the purpose of the cross: “by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” The cross of Christ is the reason that the world has been to Paul and him to the world. The word “crucified” denotes death. Through the death of Christ on the cross, Paul considered himself as dead to the world and the world as dead to him. The world has no hold of him and he has no hold of the world.
The more we experience the magnitude of the lavish love of Christ on the cross, the more we become crucified to the world and the world becomes crucified to us. So much of our problems and struggles would be eliminated if we become crucified.
In some parts of the Bible, Paul boasted about his weakness (2 Cor. 11:30), his sufferings (Rom. 5:3), and his disciples (1 Thess. 2:19-20). These verses might seem contradictory at first glance to the verse that we mentioned that says that we should boast in nothing except on the cross of Christ. How are we to reconcile this tension?
Here is what John Piper says:
“So, if Paul can boast and exult in all these things, what does Paul mean — that he would not “boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ”? But what does that mean? Is that just double-talk? You exult in one thing and just say that you are exulting in another thing? No. There is a very profound reason for saying this — that all exultation, all rejoicing, all boasting in anything should be a rejoicing in the cross of Jesus Christ. He means that, for the Christian, all other boasting should also be a boasting in the cross. All exultation in anything else should be exultation in the cross. If you exult in the hope of glory you should be exulting in the cross of Christ. If you exult in tribulation because tribulation works hope, you should be exulting in the cross of Christ. If you exult in your weaknesses, or in the people of God, you should be exulting in the cross of Christ. Why is this the case? For this reason: for redeemed sinners, every good thing — indeed every bad thing that God turns for good — was obtained for us by the cross of Christ. Apart from the death of Christ, sinners get nothing but judgment. Apart from the cross of Christ, there is only condemnation. Therefore everything that you enjoy in Christ — as a Christian, as a person who trusts Christ — is owing to the death of Christ. And all your rejoicing in all things should, therefore, be a rejoicing in the cross where all your blessings were purchased for you at the cost of the death of the Son of God, Jesus Christ.” (1)
Every good thing pales in comparison to the immeasurable worth of Christ. Intimately savoring Christ in our lives is the best thing that has ever happened to us. Everything else is eclipsed by the radiance of Christ. Let us boast of the cross of Christ alone. Let us not become clanging cymbals and noisy gongs by boasting of our worldly achievements and things relating to the flesh because it is not pleasing to the Master who bought us with His precious blood. May the exaltation of Christ be the glorious End in all of the means we experience in this world.
Venue: Massebah Christian Church, Megumi Academy, Greenplains Subdivision, Bacolod City, Philippines
This was also the day when we celebrated our sportsfest. It was a fun a day of enjoying the presence of each other through fun games, sports, lunch, and fellowship. Before the sportsfest happened, we worshipped God first through the preaching of His word. Pastor Errol shared the following principles to jumpstart our new year. These principles are not just relevant for this year but for the years to come.
Here are the principles:
A. Instead of revenge, seek opportunity to bless.
Jesus always seeks opportunities to bless people. Even just by merely passing by in the places He went, Jesus was always on the lookout for people whom He could bless. Since, Jesus was on the lookout for opportunities to bless instead of seeking revenge, he saw a man blind from birth; the recipient of his blessing of healing. (John 9:1) This blind man was blessed when Jesus healed his eyes for him to see and savor the Light of the world. (John 9:6-7)
In John 11:6-16, Jesus also blessed Lazarus and others who witnessed the miracle when He raised Lazarus from the dead. He even went to Lazarus despite of the opposition from the Jews who sought to stone Him. (John 11:8) Instead of focusing on the angry Jews, Jesus never sought revenge. Instead of seeking revenge towards them, the angry Jews didn’t hinder Jesus to seek an opportunity to bless Lazarus and others who were with Him.
Let us cultivate hearts that are bent toward blessing others rather than cursing them just as Christ did with the man born blind. Let us seek opportunities to bless rather than to take revenge.
B. Instead of focusing on ourselves, look on the needs of others.
Jesus didn’t focus on Himself but He focused on the needs of others. He was selfless in His love as He ministered to others in His lifetime; always seeking what’s good for us even at His expense. The crescendo of this selfless love is Christ’s death on the cross. Jesus is still ministering to us in heaven as He constantly intercedes for us.
C. Instead of our mouths, our hands.
The disciples of Jesus assessed the situation with their mouths and not with their hands. They analyzed it with their heads but not with their hearts. We are called to “be doers of the word, and not hearers only.” (Jas. 1:19-22) The goal of the Christian life is not information but transformation. Though it is good to encourage and affirm people with kind words, we are called to do more than that. We are called to act out what we hear and know, so that, by the grace of God, our light would shine to be seen by others for the wondrous praise of the name of our heavenly Father. (Matt. 5:16)
D. Instead of flaws, the sufficiency of God’s grace.
Jesus Christ focused on the sufficiency of God’s grace instead of focusing on the flaws of others. This is in contrast to what the disciples did. They would rather hold the blind man guilty of sin because of his blindness (John 9:2) than resting on the sufficiency of God’s grace. (John 9:3) Let us cultivate hearts that focus on what God could do to a person rather than highlighting a person’s flaws.
E. Instead of our priorities, God’s priorities
Jesus Christ focused on working the works that have been assigned to Him by our heavenly Father. For Jesus, the Father’s works are His duty and His delight. “We must work the works of Him” indicates that Jesus never thought of His works as optional but rather mandatory. (John 9:4a) Jesus focused on God’s priorities despite of oppositions, agony, suffering, mocking, beatings, tiredness, and pain.
F. Instead of thinking long term only, think short term.
Let us live our lives as though today is our last day but plan to live it in light of the possibility that we might live a hundred years. We must find that proper balance between long-term wise planning and the brevity of life. The “night is coming, when no one can work.” (John 9:4b) God has already appointed the end of our lives on this broken world. There will inevitably come a time that we will cease to work the work of the Lord, so let us strive with all our might, in complete reliance in the enabling grace of the Holy Spirit, while we still have time, by making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil.
May we never think that we are assured of tomorrow. Tomorrow is never promised. Let us make the most of today, while at the same time, humbly depending on the Lord that we can never do the things that He wants us to do apart from His gracious willing. (James 4:13-17)
G. Instead of what we can do part time, what we can do full-time.
Jesus Christ never compartmentalized His life. All of His life were offered for the glory of God and the good of others. He is not just the Light of the world sometimes. He is always the Light of the world at all times. (John 9:5) Since, He did what He could do in a full-time capacity, it paved the way to the healing of the man born blind when He used the mud on the ground to heal the blind man’s eyes. (John 9:6)
We are always followers of Christ in every aspect of our lives. Our obedience to Christ does not end at work, home, school, family, and vacation. If you are a doctor, lawyer, engineer, accountant, or student by vocation, then show Christ in that capacity. All of life is for the glory God, our joy, and the good of others.
H. Instead of thinking quantity, one person at a time.
Jesus “anointed the man’s eyes with the mud.” (John 9:6) There were others whom Jesus could heal but instead He focused on this blind man. Jesus sent the man to wash in the pool of Siloam. The blind man “went and washed and came back seeing”. Jesus Christ was never influenced by the myriad of crowds. Rather, He knew full well the people whom the Father has given to Him whom He would minister to.
There are also times in our lives that we tend to resort to wrongfully desire to immediately minister to lots of people for recognition, sense of fulfillment, power, control, and other misguided motivation. However, there are times that one of the best way to usher and care for souls in the feet of Christ is to focus on one person at a time.
As we reflect on these beneficial principles, may it not just be stored in our minds but also applied in our hearts and lives for us to be a blessing to others. As we start the year 2024, may we be reminded of the fact that we are merely stewards of the time, talent, and treasures that God has imparted to us. As we, by the grace of God, apply these principles in our lives this year and for the years of come, may we live our lives in light of the day when God will hold us accountable of everything that He has given us. (Matt. 25:14-30)
As we pour out our best for the Lord this year by His empowering grace, may we hear at the end of our lives, these sweet words from our Master: “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” (Matt. 25:21)
Let us examine our lives in light of the aforesaid principles and ask ourselves the succeeding question.
“We are meant to bless, are you?”
Pastor Errol Parpa
May this message be a blessing to all of us and redirect us to what God wants for us to do this year and all of our tomorrows.
By grace alone 