The Jesus way
“It’s at the moments when we are at our least that we discover who or what we believe in the most.” Malcolm Potts, St Philips 2014.
How many times have you heard somebody say, “We are creatures of habit”? People use this common saying to describe how we often seem to go back to what we know best and what we perceive as a safe option when life or a certain situation is difficult. Jesus had something to say about this. When we read through the gospels we see Jesus challenging the disciples and others who so often fell back into old ways of life instead of embracing the Jesus way.
The Jesus way is a way of life that promises complete fulfillment (John 10:10). It is not a promise of health or wealth; it is not a promise of physical safety or of popularity. It is a promise of fulfillment of the three things we hunger for most: significance, security and acceptance. These three needs cannot be met outside of a relationship with God through Jesus. Our first parents in the garden of Eden lost these three essentials and looked to earthy things to fulfill them. We have continued to replace them with earthly ambitions and not God. But how often do we fall for the old trick that these three needs can be satisfied by having more cash, a better body, living in a safe neighborhood or being respected and liked by others? So often I find, when I try to find complete fulfillment outside of Jesus, I either come to the end of myself - that is I am spiritually, mentally and at times physically worn out - or I arrogantly put my head down and continue to try harder to achieve fulfillment in things that just won’t work and ultimately cause me damage.
Malcolm challenged us in this area in last week’s sermon by saying that, “It is not until we come to the end of ourselves that we’re in a position to truly seek that which is beyond ourselves.” What it takes for a person to come to the end of him or herself will be different for everyone. But when we get there, we recognize this universal truth: we all fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). The response to this is to repent and believe in Jesus. That is when we begin to experience life to the full.
I have begun to memorize Colossians 3:1-17 for Lent. In the first three verses, Paul challenges the church at Colossae to set their hearts and minds on things above and not on earthly things. He says as followers of the Jesus way, the Colossian people have died but are now hidden with Jesus in God. The challenge is the same for us.
Let’s not follow the earthly way of things to give us our primary needs for significance, security and acceptance. We have been called to live the Jesus way, hidden with Him at the right hand of God. There is no safer way to live than to live the Jesus way, for He provides us with what He knows we really need. Nobody has to miss out on this free provision.
Maybe this morning you can pray with someone and repent of those earthly ways and be glad in the safe-haven that comes from living the Jesus way.
God bless, James