“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” Colossians 3:13
I am appreciative of this little book “Jesus Calling ” by Sarah Young. It is scripture written in the person view of Jesus speaking it. I am also very appreciative of a crew of 3 Bible study companions for this book that I’ve joined in my “little church with a big impact” and we take the verses day by day… That’s the Jesus Way, DAY BY DAY…
“It’s not fair”, this one reading struck me strongly… Jesus reminds us, that we are NOT to look at human opinion of us, but of Jesus’s Light guiding us, how we act, how we help. It’s not fair how we are treated sometimes in this life as we do His work, sacrificing for His sake, the sake of loving each other and the sake of giving up our own will. But then again, Jesus losing His life for our sins was also not seemingly fair. Well, that’s life. And yeah that’s LIFE because Jesus gives us LIFE forever.
Walking this week, I saw this verse in action, a writing in a visual WAY while I was walking. Under the canopy of an off-road, there was a fallen tree, deadwood in the making, and yet it had not fallen, it was caught leaning on wires. DANGEROUS, I thought, but low wires so they are probably not electricity which are usually higher. DANGEROUS for falling, I thought, but this is a road rarely traveled. INCONVENIENT I thought because it was going to be a LOT of work to remove it, requiring shutting down that wire’s feed anyway. And INCONVENIENT for an overworked workforce? Probably. What was the holdup? Time, manpower, resources, urgency.
What was holding up this tree from breaking those wires? I looked more. ANOTHER TREE! I looked further up and the two higher branches were being held by another set of limbs. Secured (for now), HELD! So, was it a strain on that other tree? Maybe. Somewhat. But it held its ground. A delicate STRONG hold.
A delicate strong HOLD. Was it fair? Not for the second tree, but it WAS helping and keeping order in the forest. It was keeping chaos from breaking out. It was HOLDING THE PEACE.
JESUS, holding up the people, keeping order in the kingdom and the hope to get people there. Jesus holding the peace. Not just dying for our sins, but LIVING for the opportunities that others could so LIVE. Not fair? Nope, but faithful devotion. Jesus Saves. Find peace in His Presence.
Have you ever been in a situation you did NOT want to be in? Maybe you are like that second tree, holding its ground and supporting structures, people, even seemingly deadweight? However we have to look to what Jesus wants us to be and do. I was stuck somewhere recently, I didn’t want to deal with the strife, and wondered really “WHY AM I HERE, LORD?“. Asking why I was positioned, questioning my struggles with “do I worry what people think of me for acting a certain way, or do I sacrifice to do the right thing in a bigger sense?”… I PRAYED… I’ve been in this situation before in different scenes, it’s like another act in God’s stage production but I’m not the star, never was, Jesus IS. Not my place to say “it’s not fair”, because it’s not, but we are on His mission. His helping is our crosses to bear. I PRAYED and asked for a sign. I had access to the web in front of me and could look up secretly a scripture. “LUKE” was laid into my brain. “15” was laid into my brain. Click, Click, Click: Luke 15, ahhhhh… the parable of the LOST SHEEP, the LOST COIN, the LOST son… SO CLEARLY GOD ANSWERED ME (especially since I asked into His Word)… Go after the one lost sheep… be the support… be that tree holding it’s ground supporting the whole scene… be HIS HANDS AND FEET, no matter the cost to you. FORGIVE because we ARE a broken people. Jesus is the only Way.
No matter what, we are to pay the price of time, energy, work because Jesus already paid for us… Let’s keep working for Him.
“I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”
I have to remember that I was once deadweight but He rebirthed me to LIFE, He put me to Work. I was and still am a sinner saved by HIS grace. I was (and am) one sheep of our Shepherd. I was lost, Jesus came for me…
NOT FAIR, but Jesus came to save us anyway. Our brokenness is nothing compared to His Healing. Hold us Lord, Help us Lord, Heaven-us Lord.
Amen
Thank You Lord, Thank You…
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Here is a reading of this Oct28 entry in that Jesus Calling book: https://youtu.be/2uGUslBZ98o
Ephesians 1:7-8 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding,
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Luke15
PS…. 8 years now this upcoming winter is when I awoke from being dead in my faith, as if Jesus said “eh, she’s only sleeping”, like when He awoke Jarius’s daughter. It was also 10 years ago now that when I was teaching Sunday school (yes I was teaching Luke 15) that I out-loud said these parables were “Jesus’s great teaching stories” and “God sent Jesus to make the Word of God spread faster“, SNAP… yes, just like the fun hands-on foaming catalyst experiment I was demonstrating at the time, of hydrogen peroxide, dishsoap and yeast (Jesus being represented by living yeast as a catalyst), this was Jesus spreading the Word… Ah, this action is Jesus finding us… thus was JESUS finding me… I’m grateful to tears… amazed to awe… challenged to action… blessed to further bless… My job? Our job? Great Commission to go out and be the workers, FIND THE SHEEP and feed them the Word! AMEN!!!
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Isaiah 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
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Romans 5:5
And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Debbie Upper 