If you call yourself a Christian you might answer that question by saying, “Well,
I try to live right and honor Him in the things I do,” or, “I spend time in
prayer and Bible reading every day,” or simply, “with obedience in serving
others and telling others the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” These are all worthy answers, but they are
answers to the question of what are you doing in response to Him, rather than
how you are treating Him.
If I were to ask, “How do you treat a good friend?” I could expect to hear responses like these: “with appreciation and respect, showing interest in what they think and like to do, with openness and honesty, with great confidence, as a person I can trust to share my secrets with, as well as my dreams and adventures.” No doubt, you could think of more.
I know, it’s hard for us to comprehend the concept of an all powerful and holy God who also desires to call us His friends. In John 15:15, Jesus said, “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing: but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.” How’s that for openness and sharing of one’s secrets!
Try this one for size…you know that God loves you, right? But do you realize that He also likes you? He made each of us to be unique objects of His love and to enjoy. Do you like Him? He wants to include you in what He is doing in the world? Do you want to include Him in what you are doing? Do you treat Him as a person -- a person who is your best friend?
Every true follower of Jesus understands that His main purpose in coming into the world was to give Himself up as a ransom for a lost world, that all who believe in Him might have eternal life. But perhaps next in importance He came to reveal what God is really like. In John 14:8-9, is this revelation, “Philip said to Him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father, how do you say, ‘Show us the Father?’ And later the Apostle Paul writes in Colossians 2:9, “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form.”
When Jesus was just a couple of days away from the cross, an event took place that has opened the door a little wider for me into understanding the kind of relationship that God desires to have with us. As He and the disciples were having a meal at a friend’s home, Mary, one of the ladies on the house, broke an alabaster container of very expensive perfume and anointed Jesus with it. It created quite a stir and some of the disciples even rebuked her. But Jesus came to her defense, saying that she had done what she could in anointing His body before the burial.
At this point in the training of the disciples, even though Jesus had repeatedly and plainly told them what was going to happen to Him in Jerusalem, that He would be killed and rise on the third day, they still didn’t get it. Even to the last they were still thinking about a new earthly kingdom that they expected Jesus would usher in and that they would share with Him in ruling. But for Mary, whether she fully understood what was about to happen or not, the important issue was that she wanted to show her deep and extravagant devotion to Him.
It’s not hard to see where the disciples were coming from in a practical sense that this didn’t seem like the best use of a year’s wages! I must admit that the thought of giving up a year’s worth of my earnings for such a cause doesn’t, at first glance, make sense and I would have stood convicted with them.
It’s kind of funny, I could see the value of giving such a sum to the “cause” of Christ, to “build His Kingdom”. But to Mary, the monetary value was of no significance. The perfume was what she had, and she had the unique privilege of giving it, not just for His work, but directly to Christ Himself, her friend, joyfully and in deep devotion. And Jesus rewarded her in an everlasting way by ensuring that this story would be told down through the ages through His word, “wherever the Gospel is preached.” (See Mark 14:1-9)
May we learn from Mary to treat our Lord and Friend as the loving person He is, who desires to be with us and to include us in His great plans and to share His secrets with us.
If I were to ask, “How do you treat a good friend?” I could expect to hear responses like these: “with appreciation and respect, showing interest in what they think and like to do, with openness and honesty, with great confidence, as a person I can trust to share my secrets with, as well as my dreams and adventures.” No doubt, you could think of more.
I know, it’s hard for us to comprehend the concept of an all powerful and holy God who also desires to call us His friends. In John 15:15, Jesus said, “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing: but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.” How’s that for openness and sharing of one’s secrets!
Try this one for size…you know that God loves you, right? But do you realize that He also likes you? He made each of us to be unique objects of His love and to enjoy. Do you like Him? He wants to include you in what He is doing in the world? Do you want to include Him in what you are doing? Do you treat Him as a person -- a person who is your best friend?
Every true follower of Jesus understands that His main purpose in coming into the world was to give Himself up as a ransom for a lost world, that all who believe in Him might have eternal life. But perhaps next in importance He came to reveal what God is really like. In John 14:8-9, is this revelation, “Philip said to Him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father, how do you say, ‘Show us the Father?’ And later the Apostle Paul writes in Colossians 2:9, “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form.”
When Jesus was just a couple of days away from the cross, an event took place that has opened the door a little wider for me into understanding the kind of relationship that God desires to have with us. As He and the disciples were having a meal at a friend’s home, Mary, one of the ladies on the house, broke an alabaster container of very expensive perfume and anointed Jesus with it. It created quite a stir and some of the disciples even rebuked her. But Jesus came to her defense, saying that she had done what she could in anointing His body before the burial.
At this point in the training of the disciples, even though Jesus had repeatedly and plainly told them what was going to happen to Him in Jerusalem, that He would be killed and rise on the third day, they still didn’t get it. Even to the last they were still thinking about a new earthly kingdom that they expected Jesus would usher in and that they would share with Him in ruling. But for Mary, whether she fully understood what was about to happen or not, the important issue was that she wanted to show her deep and extravagant devotion to Him.
It’s not hard to see where the disciples were coming from in a practical sense that this didn’t seem like the best use of a year’s wages! I must admit that the thought of giving up a year’s worth of my earnings for such a cause doesn’t, at first glance, make sense and I would have stood convicted with them.
It’s kind of funny, I could see the value of giving such a sum to the “cause” of Christ, to “build His Kingdom”. But to Mary, the monetary value was of no significance. The perfume was what she had, and she had the unique privilege of giving it, not just for His work, but directly to Christ Himself, her friend, joyfully and in deep devotion. And Jesus rewarded her in an everlasting way by ensuring that this story would be told down through the ages through His word, “wherever the Gospel is preached.” (See Mark 14:1-9)
May we learn from Mary to treat our Lord and Friend as the loving person He is, who desires to be with us and to include us in His great plans and to share His secrets with us.
Hu,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing these heart searching words. How I need to hear and obey them. Recovering here from knee replacement surgery and progressing where I walk without a cane. I appreciate you sharing your journey and the encouragement and challenges it brings to my walk in Christ. Continuing to pray for you Sherill(sp?). Our love to you both! Love Dave for Jean also
Dave,
ReplyDeleteJust reading and appreciating your comment. Thank you so much for your kind words and for your continued prayers on Sherril's and my behalf. We will be praying for full recovery of your knee and walking ability. I'm thankful that God has been able to take my puny efforts and use them for His purposes. Blessings to you and Jean. We miss you.