Time For Commitment

Meditations for Seeking the Life in Christ

The Gospel of John

August 29, 2024

 Time For Commitment

Those who love their life in this world will lose it.

Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity.

John  12: 25

When the Apostle Paul visited Athens, he found statues for dozens of gods. He even found one dedicated to the unknown god. The Greeks were known for their desire of knowledge and their love of debate. The Athens philosophy club welcomed Paul to tell them about his god and Paul gladly proclaimed the Good News of the Gospel. The club members found it to be a nice story, and invited Paul to visit with them again if he was in Athens. These people liked all manner of ideas and were partial to none. (Acts 17)

The Greeks, in Jerusalem for the Passover, were also curious onlookers. (John 12:20-28) They had heard about the wondrous deeds of Jesus and wanted to meet him in person. Perhaps if they had come at another time, Jesus may have taken the time to chat with them. However, for several chapters, John has been noting that Jesus’ time had not yet come. Then his time came. The festival of Passover was Jesus’ time. Jesus was fully focused on fulfilling the final steps in his Messianic mission. He had no time for casual debates on the philosophies of the day. It was the time for commitment.

A kernel of wheat was a nice metaphor, but his disciples did not fully appreciate the truth that it would be Jesus’ body going in the ground. Neither was it easy for them to hear, “Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity” (John 12:25).

Disciples of Jesus follow Jesus, and following Jesus means giving up control of our lives to Jesus. These words of Jesus prompted G. K. Chesterton to note, "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried." If Jesus’ words cause you to tremble a bit, reach back and remember his promise in Chapter 10: 28-30; Jesus’ followers can rest in the absolute assurance that they are safe and secure in the grasp of Jesus.

My Takeaway: It is also good to remember the promise in Matthew’s Gospel as well, “He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle” (Matthew 12:20).

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

 

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2024 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.