I remember back in VBS when we were kids, one summer the teacher had us all memorize a bible verse. Lots of kids memorized John 3:16 I think because the teacher wanted us to...but we could have picked anything. Almost everyone picked the same verse...except our brother Bill. He picked the shortest verse in the Bible. John 11:35 "Jesus wept". I'll never forget the proud look on his face. Not sure how he figured out that verse existed, but the look of triumphant victory over the teacher on his face was priceless.
It's a funny memory, but actually those two little words tell us so much. We have a Savior who cares enough about us to weep with us in our sorrow, shows compassion when we're struggling, is frustrated with stubborn blindness, and is joyful in our success. When we share our emotions with Him through prayer, He understands because he felt them too!
It was this idea of emotions that is reminding me of what Jesus must have been going through today, the day before his death. Knowing He would be betrayed by his friend, knowing that even the disciples would turn away from Him...knowing the pain of the cross that was before him. Yet still He humbled himself in service by washing the feet of the disciples, and commanded us to Love one another as He has loved us (John 13:34). This kind of love is more than just warm fuzzy feelings...it's action, it's intentional, and sometimes it's inconvenient and it's hard to do. But people notice, and they want to know how you do it!
A truley amazing story with soo much behind it. sadley I think the vast majority just don't think too deeply about what he was going through...
ReplyDeleteAlso, funny memory of Bill - that was a good one and without google to search for the smallest verse gotta give him credit!