John 17:6 I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.
Jesus was talking about the disciples. In this passage He was actually praying for them, talking to God about them. Jesus taught to many people, but He carefully prepared His chosen disciples to know who He was/is and to continue spreading the Good News. Once we become saved, I think we should consider ourselves part of the people given to Jesus, especially because the Holy Spirit promises to be with us and enables us to love like Christ and spread the Good News too.
I am not sure if there are people who believed in or became closer to Jesus because of my presence in their lives. I hope so, because that means I have (at least in part) been doing what Jesus put me here to do. I am thankful for the people in my life who drew me closer to Christ and helped me see my need for Him. Sometimes other people are the only ones who can pull us out of our own little world, the box we put ourselves in, the lies we believe about ourselves and the world.
Did the Lord give me people specifically to love out of this world? In a way different than Jesus (because he never married or had kids), I know He did; I married Mike and have two adorable kids. They are mine, given to love like Jesus loves and prepare them to go into all the world and show His love and salvation. But are there more? I believe so... they are the friends that have "stuck" with me through the hard places, through the past, through all the growing I have done (and I am sure not finished yet, so I hope they will stick around for more.) They are the other family that has to put up with me and sees how I live my daily life, as much as is possible from 1700 miles away.
Today, right now, I am lifting up prayers for my friends and family to know Jesus more personally or for the first time. My prayer will always be that you see Jesus in me.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Friday, September 2, 2011
John 15:22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. 23 He who hates me hates my Father as well.
I have been thinking about our pathway to heaven a lot lately. Some theologians would say that Jesus is the only way to heaven, as per the Bible. I would tend to agree, as long as someone or something in our lives has caused us to cross pathways with Jesus. Ask me a few days ago, and I would even have said that for those who have not had a chance to hear about Jesus, He is still the only way to salvation. But then... this scripture: "If I had not come and SPOKEN to THEM..." Well, we know Jesus speaks through all the people converted to Christianity and that we (said Christians) are supposed to take the gospel to all nations. Here, Jesus is saying that He came and people heard of Him. So, if they have heard of Him and chose not to believe or dig deeper to figure out if they believe, then there is no excuse. They had their chance. But when He said "them" did He mean all of the world after His death and resurrection? Or did He mean only the people who have actually heard of Him somehow?
Does that even matter? We know that the Bible says we have all rejected God (when Adam first sinned). We also know that the Bible says that somehow, some way during our lives, God reveals Himself to each one of us, verbally, spiritually, through His awesome creation... somehow. But then, we choose not to worship God (the Creator of heaven and earth). We choose to live for ourselves--hence, our need for a Savior. So, then the question is: if we reject God in the first place, does it matter if we never hear about the saving grace of Jesus? Is a rejection of God the Creator without knowledge of Jesus equivalent to rejecting Jesus?
Either way, we are left with those who have definitely heard of Christ, been taught of His saving power and then choose to live without Him. Believe me, life is not all peaches and cream after we choose Jesus. In fact, He said our lives might be hard, we might be persecuted for our belief in Him (as are many who live outside the USA, and as many have been throughout the history of Christianity). But He also said our reward would be eternity in Heaven with Him. I'll take that. And I will also hold onto the call to take the gospel into all the world. I am still figuring out what that looks like for me. But my desire is to see people know the saving grace of Jesus... and since I know that is His desire as well I want to figure out how best to do my part.
To all of you reading this: I love you very much. I know some of you I have not seen in years and others I see and talk to all the time. You are my heart. I hope you feel the love of Jesus through me, that you have seen me become better because of Him and that you all know how much He loves you... and that He came for YOU.
I have been thinking about our pathway to heaven a lot lately. Some theologians would say that Jesus is the only way to heaven, as per the Bible. I would tend to agree, as long as someone or something in our lives has caused us to cross pathways with Jesus. Ask me a few days ago, and I would even have said that for those who have not had a chance to hear about Jesus, He is still the only way to salvation. But then... this scripture: "If I had not come and SPOKEN to THEM..." Well, we know Jesus speaks through all the people converted to Christianity and that we (said Christians) are supposed to take the gospel to all nations. Here, Jesus is saying that He came and people heard of Him. So, if they have heard of Him and chose not to believe or dig deeper to figure out if they believe, then there is no excuse. They had their chance. But when He said "them" did He mean all of the world after His death and resurrection? Or did He mean only the people who have actually heard of Him somehow?
Does that even matter? We know that the Bible says we have all rejected God (when Adam first sinned). We also know that the Bible says that somehow, some way during our lives, God reveals Himself to each one of us, verbally, spiritually, through His awesome creation... somehow. But then, we choose not to worship God (the Creator of heaven and earth). We choose to live for ourselves--hence, our need for a Savior. So, then the question is: if we reject God in the first place, does it matter if we never hear about the saving grace of Jesus? Is a rejection of God the Creator without knowledge of Jesus equivalent to rejecting Jesus?
Either way, we are left with those who have definitely heard of Christ, been taught of His saving power and then choose to live without Him. Believe me, life is not all peaches and cream after we choose Jesus. In fact, He said our lives might be hard, we might be persecuted for our belief in Him (as are many who live outside the USA, and as many have been throughout the history of Christianity). But He also said our reward would be eternity in Heaven with Him. I'll take that. And I will also hold onto the call to take the gospel into all the world. I am still figuring out what that looks like for me. But my desire is to see people know the saving grace of Jesus... and since I know that is His desire as well I want to figure out how best to do my part.
To all of you reading this: I love you very much. I know some of you I have not seen in years and others I see and talk to all the time. You are my heart. I hope you feel the love of Jesus through me, that you have seen me become better because of Him and that you all know how much He loves you... and that He came for YOU.
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