In order to make our way through all the challenges of daily life, we create our personal world view and ways of coping. The Jewish religious leaders knew their role, their position, and their place in society. It was a good place, or so they believed, a lifestyle that brought a certain status and provided a comfortable way of living.
Jesus comes along and is potentially upsetting all that was familiar to them. "Who is this that can raise the dead? The people will turn to him and away from us!" The solution? "It is better to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed." (John 11:50) They feared the Romans would see an uprising and assert their authority, but they also feared their personal world would be threatened.
I think that's why we, too, resist the discipline of self examination. It will inevitably reveal our faults and imperfections, and will likely ask us to change. Such personal change is difficult. The ways we have chosen to cope may well need to be replaced. That means uncertainty, and we don't like that feeling. But, as 1 John 1:8-9 says, God is faithful and just." God forgives. With God's forgiveness and the presence of the Spirit, a new path in life is always possible.
We need to recognize our sin and humble ourselves before God. We also need to embrace and accept his grace and forgiveness so that the weight of our sin is lifted from our shoulders and we are free to serve Him enthusiastically.
ReplyDeleteSusan~ I like your reminder that we are FREE to serve ENTHUSIASTICALLY! For me, when I say "yes" to something that I think God is calling me to, no matter how difficult it seems, He usually immediately gives me a sense of JOY. However, once in a while, I'm confident that He wants me to do something and I have a clear sense of purpose, yet I can't say that I have "enthusiasm"...possibly because He knows that I need to learn to give sacrificially.
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