Saturday, March 26, 2011

Seek The Gospel Of The Kingdom

Seeking God…..To Become Famous For His Works

Today, in the Scripture reference taken from John 12:27-28, 30 we hear Jesus tell those listening that the voice that they heard, “. . . has not come for My sake, but for your sakes.”  I’m struck by a great sense of humility as I read Jesus’ statement and bring it to a personal level.  It wasn’t for Him but for me . . . the voice wasn’t for Him but for me . . . His birth wasn’t for Him but for me . . . His miracles weren’t for Him but for me . . . His suffering on the path to Golgotha wasn’t for Him but for me . . . His crucifixion wasn’t for Him but for me . . . His appearances after the resurrection weren’t for His benefit but for my benefit.  Everything that Jesus came to do wasn’t for His own need but for my great need. 

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to us considering that at the start of His ministry He set this goal.  Listen to Jesus in the synagogue as He speaks of His reason for coming, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor”  (Luke 4:18-19). Wow, it always has been for “my sake” and “your sake” so that we might experience eternal life with God to the full and maximum starting today.  It’s been the ultimate mission of grace and we’ve been the targets of that love whose height, depth, length, and breath continues to reach into the darkest recesses of the human soul to bring life.    It’s this realization that makes me join with the Psalmist in Psalm 72 to pray, “May His name increase as long as the sun shines . . . Blessed be the Lord [our] God, the God of Israel, who alone works wonders.  And blessed be His glorious name forever.  And may the whole earth be filled with His glory. [Amen.]”

Tim Carter

First Church of the Nazarene