cchrisholland

We all have questions. Even Jesus asked questions. As a matter of fact, He asked a lot of questions, but not from lack of information. His questions were more for the listeners’ benefit. In John 1, we find:

“Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” – John 1:35-39a NKJV

What were they seeking?

Since these two men (John & Andrew) were already disciples of John the Baptist, they were obviously interested in spiritual things, but throughout the gospels the disciples dreamed of a glorious earthly kingdom. One-by-one those desires had to be slowly set aside in order to “follow” Jesus. He directed them to:

“…seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” – Matt. 6:33 NKJV

What are you seeking today?

Are your prayers about the benefits of following Christ or about kingdom focused things? Trust is the key word, even when we don’t get the answers we want…“seek first His kingdom…and all these things shall be added to you”.

Jesus chose to set aside His glory, take on flesh, and be one of us. Because of that, He initially had to go through a growth process. There’s a story recorded of Him engaging the temple leaders in conversation when He was twelve. Luke describes His actions this way as Joseph and Mary were walking in:

“…sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers” – Luke 2:46b:47 NKJV

Jesus was conversational. Even before He had fully reached maturity, He was perplexing those who considered themselves “learned”. His purpose wasn’t to embarrass the temple leadership, He was just being Himself. He was naturally drawn to conversation about spiritual and scriptural things. It was His method then, and still is now. Through the Holy Spirit, conversation can be happening any time; and in a healthy conversation there’s time to talk and time to listen.

Has He amazed you lately? He still astonishes if we’re willing to talk and listen; especially if we’ve started considering ourselves “learned”. We may not always understand the answers, but the time is well spent.

God recognizes no boundaries but His own.

When Jesus was born, the stable wasn’t an unwanted by-product due to all the travelers for the census, it was the plan. The timing wasn’t unforeseen, nor the circumstances. Jesus was born a Jew, within the confines of what God had ordained all along. On the eighth day, He was presented:

“And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.” – Luke 2:21 NKJV

It’s easy to overlook the importance of the fact that Jesus had to come, live, die and rise again in a specific way to become our substitute. The Law and Old Covenant was a precious part of God’s redemptive plan. It defined perfection to His standards, and He alone fully met the requirements. Along the faith journey, we can subconsciously forget that God operates within boundaries; His own.

God will always act within His righteous nature. When life choices present themselves and we’re looking to God for help, the statement of “I know what the Bible says, but…” is a bad place to start. Jesus faced pressure every day to act in ways according to people’s expectations, but He rarely did. He operated within the constraints of His own words given to the Prophets years earlier.

How do you see God’s plan for your life? Does it match up with a scriptural definition of a disciple, or some “reasonable” mixture of pop-culture and faith?

“…If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.” – John 8:31b NKJV