Time For Commitment

Tuesday, February 18, 2014      Time For Commitment

John  12: 20-26

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 in particular. (Acts 17)

The Greeks, in Jerusalem for the Passover, were also curious onlookers. 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 will 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, Jesus’ followers can rest in the absolute assurance that they are safe and secure in the grasp of Jesus. 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

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(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. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.