Saturday, October 24, 2009

God promises you a cross.

God promises you a cross.

Hebrews 5:7-10 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

I’d like to finish this study by answering the question of why God gives us a cross to bear. The very best place to look for answers is always to Jesus, and as we know, Jesus Himself endured much suffering on the cross for us. The above passage about what Jesus went through can teach us several things.

First let’s note what this says about Jesus and how He prayed and submitted to the Father while He was here on earth. I cannot read that verse without getting a picture of what “the fear of God” looks like, or should look like anyway. Even though Jesus was and is God Himself, He was here to save us and to teach us how we are to live. One of the things He always stressed was the fear of God.

Luke 12:5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.

It shouldn’t be surprising them that He would show us what that looks like in His own life, for His Word says that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. When we read about all the things He did, one thing sticks out, that He only did what the Father told Him to do.

John 14:31 but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me. “Come now; let us leave.

John 12:49-50 For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”

So we see here that Jesus is even showing us what it looks like to be His follower! We must follow Him, just as He followed His Father.

Next the passage tells us that although He was a son, He learned obedience from what He suffered. We know from the many things Jesus told us that once we are saved, we too are the sons and daughters of God. We are not and never will be divine like Jesus is, but we are his children and heirs to His Kingdom. If Jesus Himself had to suffer to learn obedience, then don’t you think it stands to reason that we just might need to learn that lesson as well? Obedience isn’t a lesson any of us take to easily even as children. As adults we tend to resist even harder at times, although the reasons are usually the same. We just have a slightly better vocabulary then we did as children so we can come up with more ways to say, “but it’s not fair!” However, this isn’t about fairness is it? It’s about obedience. It’s about learning to live as Jesus did so that we too can say that whatever we do or say, we do because the Father has told us to.

I know one of my favorite questions (and that’s a polite word for whining when we’re talking about this) seems to be, “Why?” or even, “Why me?”. I have to thank my mother for something she taught me as a child about those particular questions. (I told you that even though we’re adults, we tend to stick to the same tired old arguments against obedience) As for the question of “why?”, my mother’s answer to that was always, “why not you?” She would ask me what made me think I was better then everyone else that I shouldn’t have to do something. As an adult now I can almost hear my heavenly Father echo her words and say to me, “What makes you think you’re better then My Son that you shouldn’t have to do something?”

John 15:14 You are my friends if you do what I command.

1 Corinthians 10:31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,

May our reply to the Father always be the same as these officials of the King:

2 Samuel 15:15 The king’s officials answered him, “Your servants are ready to do whatever our lord the king chooses.

In the above passage it says that Jesus learned obedience though His suffering and through that came perfection. For us, when we suffer through picking up our cross and following Him, it also teaches us obedience and through that God makes us more and more like Jesus every day. Let me share with you how the Lord would have us look at hardship and suffering that we have to endure:

Hebrews 12:5-11 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.” Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

We see here that the cross we bear and our obedience produce righteousness and peace within us. This is not something that comes to us “naturally” though. If it were then everyone in the world who suffers would have this righteousness and peace, and we know that is not true. This is rather something that the Lord produces within us when we are obedient.

James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

The above verse reminds me of how Jesus faced the cross for the joy set before Him. We too are to be joyful when we face these trials and hardships and suffering, because it is proof that we are being raised up by our Father to be mature and complete in Him. He is not saying that we should be joyful “for” the trials” but rather that we should be joyful when we are “undergoing” trials, because we know what the outcome of them will be.

1 Peter 1:6-7 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Let us end this study with the above passage which shows us again that our suffering is allowed by our Father in His wisdom, for the same reason He allowed Jesus to suffer. It produces obedience, it draws us closer to Him, and refines our faith until it is pure and unpolluted by the world. Here Peter also reminds us that our faith is the most important thing we have so we should rejoice greatly that it is being refined. Our Father is doing a great work within us! He is making us more and more like Jesus every single day. When we stop and think about it for a minute, we realize how foolish it is to think that we could become like our Lord without experiencing the suffering that He did! Yes, the Lord will give us a cross to bear and for that we can rejoice together because we can then know that we are indeed His children and that we are sharing and participating in the sufferings of our Savior and so becoming more and more like Him as He refines us though these trials.

2 Corinthians 3:18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

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