Gospel – John 10-12
May the Lord show His mercy upon you;
May the light of His presence be your guide :
May He guard you and uphold you;
May His Spirit be ever by your side.
When you sleep, may His angels watch over you;
When you wake, may He fill you with His grace :
May you love Him and serve Him all your days.
Then in heaven may you see His face.
Bible Passage: John 10-12
I came upon this beautiful piece ‘A Clare Benediction’ by John Rutter and thought to share it with you.
Like a shepherd cares for his flock, God watches over us.
John 10:10 tells us the thief of the world comes only to steal, kill and destroy, but God has come that we may have life and have it to the full.
I like the phrase ‘that we may have life and have it to the full’. Are we living out our lives to the fullest possible? Perhaps we are still wandering in the labyrinth of life and have lost our way, albeit temporarily.
Have the thieves of lusts, pride and wealth stolen the place in our hearts where once not too long ago our counsellor and friend God occupied? Or in the worst possible scenario, are we like the living dead?
Are we languishing in bitterness and anger, with seeds of jealousy growing, growing in our hearts? Are we tottering along in life, not really knowing whom and what we believe, without a hope of eternal life and happiness?
It’s time for a brand new outlook!
The Jews despite witnessing the many miracles of Jesus and listening to His teachings failed to realise they had the Messiah in their midst (John 10:24).
We may laugh as we read and wonder at their disbelief. But Christian teachings are widely accessible in the Internet and churches can be found almost everywhere today. We remain as blind as bats to God’s personal testimony of love. Let us wipe the lenses of our eyes so we may clearly see what we can do to edify God in our daily lives in our speech and conduct. We are a book before our non-believing family and friends. They read us every day. What did they read in us today?
Jesus loved Lazarus and his sisters. John 11:35 records Jesus wept when He saw how Lazarus’ sisters Mary and Martha were affected by his death. He felt their anguish for their loss and their sincere regret that Jesus could not be there earlier to save their brother.
As much as He was God, Jesus in flesh and blood could feel the entire gamut of emotions we go through every day. More often than I like to, I let my emotions get the better of me. When hurt or so I perceive, I tend to retreat and sulk. I also show my displeasure so the other party realises and hopefully apologises first.
Aha! Caught in the act – pride at work.
Upon further reflection, the other party may not be entirely at fault. If we have the humility to look at an issue at all possible perspectives, then we will maintain peace with others and grow in faith together. Hypocrisy (John 12:4-6), jealousy (John 12:19) and other negative emotions tend to stunt growth.
God’s our very own shepherd!
He is our life-saviour, bodyguard and guide!
Have you ever gone on a packaged tour? You follow the tour guide, along with the rest of your tour group.
You are transported on a bus to all the interesting places to visit, pointed out all the beautiful sights to see, shown all the best food spots. Your mind’s at ease, knowing your guide will be there to lead you as you experience the sights, sounds and smell in the foreign place.
Similarly, God’s our constant guide in this ‘foreign’ land. As sojourners, we are not of the world, we do not belong to this world, inevitably, we will feel out of place as we do not follow the practices and ‘norms’ of the world. Some choose to eschew evil. Others choose a life of skirting along its edges. Many more choose to be left to their own devices but end up being overcome and defeated.
We are God’s children and only God can guide us deftly through the waves of physical, emotional and spiritual struggles if we let Him.
The following phrases of ‘A Clare Benediction’ sets our minds at total ease:
When you sleep, may His angels watch over you;
When you wake, may He fill you with His grace :
God watches over us 24 by 7! How awesome is that? Wait, there is more. Read John 10:27-29. Jesus watches over His sheep so that they shall never perish. Granted by God, our eternal life cannot be taken away from us.
Hence, no matter what we have gone through in life so far, take heart. This seems like a very bold statement to make because I do not know what you have encountered or are presently going through, but there is one thing we should all be very sure of – that God will never allow the thief to take away that which rightfully belongs to His children.
Emmanuel.
3 Comments
Treasureinearthenvessel
Thanks for reminding me that what God has given to me, nobody can take away.
I admit that this is something that I always forget. Perhaps not consciously but my deeds show that I have forgotten.
I strive so hard to hold on to what I am losing.
I make sure I have control over what is in my hand.
I constantly seek after something better.
To the extent that I tire myself out and lose my way.
That is the time when I have to consider once again. Why am I trying so hard? Is it because I am afraid of losing certain things? Is it because we want to make more things ours?
Is it because of fear? We are afraid of losing what we want for ourselves.
JoyousConcerto reminded us that “God will never allow the thief to take away that which rightfully belongs to His children.”
At the end of the day, what is really important? What do we really need?
Jesus. His grace, love, and mercy.
And this, nobody can take away from us. Only we ourselves can choose to receive it abundantly or to reject it totally.
He will never hold back good things to those who love Him. The only thing is to wait on Him!
belovedofthelord
I believe that there is more than meets the human eye to John 11:35.
I’d definitely agree that Jesus wept ‘cos He was moved with human compassion for the sisters. At the same time, I think there’s a deeper significance to this shortest verse of the Bible.
One that has to do with the deep despair that Jesus had over the desire of the Jews for that sign, for that miracle.
Jesus groaned within Himself even after the Jews had proclaimed on His behalf that He so loved Lazarus. This might point to the fact that Jesus was saddened by their spiritual disposition (or lack thereof). Granted that it is natural for humans to grieve in times of a loved one’s passing, yet, Jesus had already made it clear beforehand in Jn 11:23 that Lazarus would rise again.
Further, Jesus didn’t come to perform miracles, but to promise a new life – one that is in the resurrection with Him (refer to Jn 11:25).
Jesus definitely groaned emotionally with human compassion, and very likely also spiritually over the people’s lack of belief in His Life-giving words.
Anyway, I do realise that my point here may be out of sync with the general intent of the blog-post, but it’s just my 2-cents.
🙂 Hope that we can all learn and grow in understanding together too.
PS
“My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it up again.”
“No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down Myself.”
“I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it again.”
“This command I have received from My Father.” (John 10:17-18)
“I and My Father are one.” (John 10:30)
This is the sovereignty of God. He has the power to lay down His life and He has the power to take it up again.
We, humans, do not have this power. Even after our batptism, even after we receive the Holy Spirit we do not have such power. Only God has the power to come out of death. This power has victory over Satan.
“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.” (John 10:28)
Our salvation is by grace bec it is by the power of God. God is faithful and will not go back on His own words. This i believe. This i trust.