Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Speaking To The Human Condition: Jesus

Jesus offers an extended rebuke to the Jews who get all legalistic on Him after He heals on the Sabbath and then equates calls Himself God's Son. How scandalous! 

In doing so, He offers such a raw account of the human condition that I got chills as I read it. It was as if the Lord were seeing straight through me; I was Eve in the garden attempting to hide my nakedness in embarrassment. 

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. I do not receive glory from people. But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. John 5:39-42

That's the translation I usually read (ESV). But I was in the Amplified tonight. Check it out: 

You search and investigate and pore over the Scriptures diligently, because you suppose and trust that you have eternal life through them. And still you are not willing [but refuse] to come to Me, so that you might have life. And these [very Scriptures] testify about Me! I receive not glory from men [I crave no human honor, I look for no mortal fame], But I know you and recognize and understand that you have not the love of God in you.

In other words, you're reading all about Me, and think you find life in the words of the Bible and the Law, but you won't come to Me, so that you may truly have life. (You assume the Gospel). And you're already reading all about Me! I'm not looking for glory and fame on this earth. I know everything about you and who you are and what you've done and I know that you don't have the love of God in you. 

Ouch. 

I watched a sermon today on how one of our biggest problems is that we desire to be known and loved, but our greatest fear is that if someone truly knows us, they won't love us anymore. So we put on masks and hide who we really are, but all the time we're aching to take off the mask and see if the person who loves the fakes us would love the real us if they knew us. But we're too afraid so we live in this vicious cycle. 

So to know that our Lord knows us is a little bit terrifying. Doesn't that make you tremble. The holy, righteous, spotless Savior and Son of God knows us. I can't even imagine how dirty I must look to Him. The word that comes to mind is honestly "gross". And He knows that without Him, and the Holy Spirit, I don't have the love of God in me. There's no faking it before the Lord. You can put up a mask, you can read your Bible, you can go to church, you can do anything you want, but Jesus is going to see right through you. 

I remember a quote a friend shared with me, "Your best friend is the person who knows everything about you, and loves you anyway"  

Which is why it's so clear that Jesus knew exactly what He was dying for. We know that He became sin, our sin, so that we might be transferred into the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). But because we are so intimately known by our Savior, we may approach Him with awe; He knew everything about us and still died for us. He didn't die for us because we were almost good enough and just needed a little boost over into that righteous category. No, Christ died for utter failures. He came that we might finally know true love. He loved us first, and that's why we are even able to love Him. 

Amazing grace 



No comments:

Post a Comment