(John 15:9-10)

Reflection:

In the last of this series on Christ’s Calls, we find the most magnificent statement. It is one that we would never have imagined into existence. It could only have come from the mouth of Jesus Himself and, having been said by Him, has to be true. We have known before that God has loved us in a special way, but never in our wildest dreams would we have come up with this,

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.”

The love that the Father and Son have for each other has to be of a quality that is beyond anything that we can conceive. It would make our best love pale into complete insignificance by comparison. Paul has a glimpse of it when he prays that we may

“grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge–that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:18-19).

The love that God the Father Almighty has for His Son, who is a part of His very Being, is the love that the Son, our Lord and Saviour has for us. It is that love, and the width, length, height and depth of it, that made the Cross, and our salvation, possible. We are really, really loved in a way that is beyond imagining, but not beyond knowing.

Having held the reality of that love out to us, Jesus calls us to remain in it – not to wander off into some other superficial and phony emotion that will end up separating us from Him, and cause us to wither and die spiritually. Because His love is real, and because He is the Good Shepherd who will lay down His life for His sheep, He calls us trust His love. We trust His love by trusting His Way, and the way to journey along that Way – because that Way is there to bring us safely and wonderfully home to our heavenly Father.

• “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.”
• “If you love me, you will obey what I command.”  (John 14:15)
• “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”  (John 14:21)
• “Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”  (John 14:23)

The commands are there for a purpose. They are the only way to stay within the love of God, to show to ourselves and to others our love for God and trust in Him, and to enable God to build His Kingdom of love and blessing in and through us. We do not earn our salvation by obeying – that is God’s free gift of grace to all who believe. Our obedience is the only response that we can make to show that we value it and recognise why it was necessary. It is the ultimate demonstration that we have moved from the ‘low way of the world’ onto the ‘High Way of Christ’, where we travel with Him to the most glorious and certain destination –as faithful disciples and beloved children of the Almighty Father. There is no other way, this Way, and this alone, is the Way to glory!

“Now choose Life”

(Deuteronomy 30:19)

Response:

Choose to believe that you are loved. Choose to live in this live. Choose to live out this love.

Prayer:

“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”  (Mark 9:24)

—————–

(John 15:4)

Reflection:

Jesus said – I am the Way; Repent; Believe; Follow Me.

Now His word to us is, “Remain in Me” – “Abide in Me” (KJV); “Live in Me” (Message).

When Jesus calls us to follow Him He does not have in mind that we should do so at a distance – as if watching to see what is happening, but not getting involved or becoming identified with Him. Nor does He envisage a once-a-week, or once-a-day, association. He is looking at a relationship that lives and exists every second of every day. There are no vacations or sabbaticals. Just as His promise to be with us ‘always’ means always, so He calls for and expects the same response from us. Likewise, His promise that the Holy Spirit “lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:17) means that He will do so without a break. If we try and make it less, or have times when we effectively go off by ourselves, then we weaken the relationship and give up our opportunity to bear the fruit that comes from Him.

The image of the Vine makes it quite clear:

• “No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” (John 15:4)
• “apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
• “If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.” (John 15:6)
• “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” (John 15:8)

We are called into this permanent and close relationship with Him so that He can bring us into the reality of God’s love, transform the quality and effectiveness of our lives, and grow us towards the original image that God had in mind for us. The fruit that He will seek to develop will be that:

• We know that we are the sons or daughters of God the Father Almighty:
  • For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.(Romans 8:15-16)
• We receive God’s love:
  • God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.(Romans 5:5)
• God makes our lives effective:
  • For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.(Ephesians 2:10)
• The character of God begins to be revealed in us:
  • But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)
• We receive Spirit empowered gifts:
  • All these (gifts) are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.(1 Corinthians 12:11)

It all depends upon the closeness and strength of our relationship with God. If we keep Him at a distance we limit the growth. The closer and more open we are to Him, the more that we invite and allow Him to do –  the more He delights in doing.

Response:

There is no other way, nor a better way, than the way ofGod’s Love – our actions reveal our response.

Prayer:

Father God, please so fill me with Your Spirit that I may desire nothing more than to walk ever closer with Jesus. Amen.

————–

(Mark 1:17)

Reflection:

The third imperative spoken by Jesus in Mark’s account – after ‘Repent’ and ‘Believe’ – is “Follow Me.”

The new life that Jesus brings is not just one of new information or an intellectual understanding.

‘Repent’ is to turn away from the old to a new focus and direction. ‘Believe’ is to accept and trust not only new information but, in this case, the Person Himself, and to enter into a personal and trusting relationship with Him. ‘Follow Me’ is to give effect to the previous two calls, and to step out with Jesus, the Way, – in the new ways into which He will lead us. This action that we now take, in following Jesus, has a promise attached to it, “I will make you.”  His will along the way, on this journey, is to transform us from who and what we were into someone and something new. In the case of Simon and Andrew He would make them ‘fishers of men’. From labourers on the lake He would transform them into apostles of God, bringing the Kingdom of God to people, and drawing people into the eternal life of this Kingdom. His promise to them, to make them someone and something new, is true for each one of us.

• “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)
• “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

‘Follow Me’ takes us from one way of life into another. It is a new way that is discernibly and audibly different, because it is about Jesus. It is a way of speaking and thinking, imagining and praying that reflects this new reality in our lives as we begin to live out what it is to be a child of the Almighty God, and a member of His eternal Kingdom. It should become too special and alive to be denied or hidden. On the contrary, like a lamp on a stand in a dark night, people will be drawn to notice the difference.

Following Jesus, the Way, involves us now in living and doing things His way. We cannot walk the Way of God in the ways of the world on which we have turned, or are turning, our backs. The two do not go together. The ways of the world are a denial of the Way that is Christ. A good end will never result from a rotten process. Our new life is given character and shape and direction by Christ Himself – who called us and has undertaken to ‘make us’ in His way. Jesus said and lived the same message, and His actions were in line with both. His call to us will be to follow His model – only that way can His purpose for us, and for His ministry through us, be fulfilled. For He does not ask us to sit around having study and discussion groups about His way; He calls us to walk it and to live it with Him and, along the Way, to allow Him to show us the unfolding truths and Truth, and the deeper lives and Life, that will result.

To follow Jesus is to travel a road you would never have thought possible, to undertake a journey you would never have tried alone, and to become a person whom you would not have imagined. And, on the Way, to discover what it is to be unconditionally loved, what it is to truly love, and the humbling and awesome privilege of being allowed into the lives of others as God works through, and even around, you to bring them His love and blessings. There is no other Way like it.

Response:

Pray for guidance. Read a Gospel and note the directions Jesus gives. Begin prayerfully to apply some of them. Persevere.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, please help me right this moment to turn to You (even more) and to seek to walk in Your ways. Please guide, prompt and strengthen me through the day. Amen.

—————

(Mark 1:15)

Reflection:

The first call was to Repent. The second, allied to it, is to Believe.

Jesus did not come to call us to recognise and repent of our sinfulness so that we could try harder to keep the Law. The Law has convicted us of sin, the consequence of which is death. It has revealed to us, through our inability to live it out, that we need a Saviour. The Good News in which we are called to believe is that the Saviour has come. Jesus Himself is that Good News – He is the One in whom we are to believe.

At the beginning of His ministry

“He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”  (Luke 4:14-21)

Here was a public announcement of His identity as the one referred to in the great prophecy of Isaiah. The time truly had come. The Kingdom of God had arrived in the person of Christ the King.

When asked by the crowd, “what must we do to do the works God requires?”, He responded simply,

“the work of God is this; to believe in the one He has sent.” (John 6:28-29)

This had been preceded by the dramatic and life-changing statement,

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  (John 3:16)

The stunning truth is that through His life, death and resurrection Jesus has opened for us the way back to God, and into His love and presence for all eternity. There is nothing that we can do to earn or deserve this great and unimaginable gift. All that is required of us is to humbly acknowledge it, by faith accept it, and through our new way of living respond to it.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Believe -in Jesus our Saviour. He is the Way that we get to God and that God comes to us. He is the Truth about God and His unending love, as well as the Truth about our Salvation. He is the Life that God gives to us, and which we live in the presence, guidance and power of the Holy Spirit.

Response:

Repent – change focus and priority – and Believe in Jesus. Let that belief increasingly be reflected in the way that you live. And remember… do it!

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, all my life has been about having to earn and achieve. Please help me to fix my eyes on You, and to believe in You and in what You say. Amen.

———————

(Mark 1:15)

Reflection:

In St Mark’s Gospel the first imperative word spoken by Jesus came after His baptism. It was the word ‘Repent’, which we must try and understand in all its fullness. It is a call to a change of direction and lifestyle.

Firstly, it is a call to acknowledge and express our sin/s and to ask for the forgiveness of God. For “against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.” (Psalm 51:4) This also infers that we know what it is that we have done wrong, or have failed to do, and, therefore, know what it is that we should have done instead. The sin, which is an offence against God, is not only disobedience. It includes a denial of God’s sovereignty, a rejection of His love, wisdom and goodness, and also stands as a barrier in terms of our relationship with Him. There is also another side to sin which is that we miss out on the potential for good that was open to us – in terms of either possible action, or the rejection of what was sinful. In both, we have chosen the wrong way.

Secondly, for repentance to be honest and valid, we need to be sorry for the sins that we confess. This is not only that we have been found out, by others or by God, but deeply saddened that we have in fact sinned in this way.

Thirdly, for our repentance to be real, we need to take a decision to do our best not to sin again in this way in the future, and to ask God to help us. The understanding here would be that we would turn right away from such things, and face in the opposite direction – (unlike the man who said that he was such a great sinner that he would have to turn a full 360 degrees!) If we fail then we keep coming back to God for forgiveness and help.

Having said all this, there is still another depth to repentance.  In becoming a follower of Christ we must be aware that in includes a decision to no longer walk in the way of the world, for we recognise that it is the wrong way. Instead we turn to follow Jesus and to walk in His way. It involves a change of mind, of focus and of direction in every area of our life. This is a consequence of our spiritual re-birth, where we enter into a new life which has to be lived differently from the one that we knew in the past. So, Paul teaches that

• “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
• “Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” (Colossians 3:9-10)

Jesus call to repentance is a call to change – a change of heart and of our way of looking at people and at things. He calls us to move from death to life, from law to grace, from exclusion to inclusion, from the wrong way to the right Way, from separation from God to being a child of God, from judgement to forgiveness, from fear to peace. It is all found in Him, as He invites us to ‘Believe’ and to ‘Follow’ Him. It is a new journey. However, we do not walk alone – we walk with Him. And when we fall, as we will, He will be there to help us up and onward, assisting us to leave the old behind and to embrace the new.

Response:

Repent, and believe the good news!

Prayer:

Father, please open my understanding to the horror of sin, the wonderful salvation that is in Jesus Christ, the need to repent and the specific areas in which I need your forgiveness, cleansing and help – for Jesus sake, Amen.

———————–

(Psalm 119:105)

Reflection:

The Scriptures are one of God’s great and wonderful gifts to us. They contain the story of His involvement with the people whom He created and called. They also contain His revelation, instructions and guidance to them. In the New Testament we have both the account and the teachings of His Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. No one can be said to take God seriously who does not take His word and revelation seriously, and who does not try and build his or her life around them.

 The Psalmist also tells us that.

“Blessed is the man … his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.”  (Psalm 1:1-3)

 Jesus Himself taught that,

• “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”  (John 14:23)
• “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” (John 15:7)
• “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.”  (John 15:10)

 As Christians we are not called to live good or decent lives. We are called to live holy lives, lives set aside by God and for God, Christ-like lives. One of the ways that we begin to do this is to soak ourselves in the Scriptures – the word of God. They should be our daily reading, our study and a part of our discussion with others – as we share our understandings and their application in our lives.

 Although a life-long journey it is not as daunting as it sounds. Just as we can swim in the sea without having swum the entire ocean, so we can soak in the Scriptures from the moment we start. The most important thing is to start and to continue. As we do so we discover that they really do speak into our lives, and become “a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” both internally and externally.

 And, all the time, remember that these Scripture are inspired by God and are a revelation of Him. We do not approach them only to find the laws of life but, more importantly, to find their Author – the Lord the Giver of Life Himself. The most important question to ask as we read is, “What do these verses tell me about God!”

 There are a number of reading plans available. You will find two on The Shepherd link.

 Response:

Start today, if you do not already. Not just a few verses, but at least a chapter at a time, book by book, for yourself.

 Prayer:

Heavenly Father, please open me to Your word, and Your Word to me – and help me to be both informed and formed through Your ministry. Amen.

————-

(Matthew 4:8-10)

Reflection:

There are a number of truths that we need to grasp.

Firstly, the kingdoms of the world were not the devil’s to give. He might have a temporary power in and over them, but they did not belong to him. Jesus had come to establish His authority over what belonged to God. What the devil was actually offering was for Jesus to rule the world the devil’s way, subject to the devil’s directions, as a servant of the devil. To bow down and worship the devil would be to put him in the place of God.

Secondly, the temptation was that it would, on the face of it, be the simple route and would avoid the pain and suffering that Jesus knew lay ahead of Him. If He had not been very aware of the devil’s schemes it would have seemed like the easy option.

Thirdly, the truth of the matter is that a good result cannot be obtained from a flawed, or bad, process. God’s purposes cannot be attained, and His name glorified, by listening to Satan. The end does not justify the means. Cheating in exams does not result in knowledge, ability or a dependable qualification. Bribery destroys, and does not build, society or its people. Lying weakens relationships. Immorality destroys character. The Kingdom of God is not built on rotten foundations.

Fourthly, Satan’s ways are impersonal – He does not care about people. He is ‘the father of lies’ and will happily lead them to pain and destruction in His warfare against God. Jesus came to save humankind, and showed particular attention to the lost, the poor and the needy. He is the expression of the God who “so loved the world.”

Fifthly, Satan does not worship or serve God, nor does he do anything God’s way. Jesus worshipped God and submitted to His will and authority. He would teach that He only spoke the words that His Father gave Him, and that He only did what His Father showed Him. In Gethsemane He submitted to His Father’s will and went on to the Cross and His death. In doing so He dealt with the sins of humankind and opened the way home for those who would believe. If Jesus had fallen short, or had chosen any other way of doing things, there would have been no salvation for you and for me. The way we live and act matters enormously, it is an expression of who is God  – and who God is – in our lives.

Sixthly, there are only two ways open to us – the way of Jesus and the way of the world. The way of Jesus can only be undertaken in His way. The way of the world, where it is not the way of Jesus, is the way of Satan. There is no other way. We are already on one of the ways – we must ensure that it is the right way, with the right person, leading to the right destination.

The Lord is my Shepherd – my Way, my Truth and my Life – my God and my Saviour.

Response:

Which way will you build your life and character – on rock or on sand?

Prayer:

Father, the temptations all around me are great. Please help me to percieve the dangers and the lies and to walk in the light and the truth, for Your glory and not just my comfort. Amen.

————-

“Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “`He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: `Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

(Matthew 4:5-7)

Reflection:

Jesus could not be drawn into using His powers to satisfy His own wants – and therefore He would not use them in such a way for others, looking only at their material comfort and well-being. He made it clear that He, and others, should be subject to the word of God.

What next? This temptation was to leap off the pinnacle of the temple, trusting that God would keep His word through the Psalmist that no harm would come to Him. Jesus replied that we should not play games with God.

There is, however, a deeper issue involved here. The temple was filled with people all the time. If Jesus leaped off the pinnacle and landed like Superman in their midst it would cause a sensation. People would flock to Him, and bring others with them, looking to see more spectacular demonstrations of His power. One would lead to another, each having to be more amazing than the previous ones. He would become a mass entertainer, almost a circus performer. But Jesus was not looking to entertain and avoided the temptation to make Himself merely the centre of attraction. In fact, in His ministry, He tried to avoid the crowds that flocked to Him merely because of some of the, relatively few, miracles that He performed amongst them. He did not want to dazzle them but to change their lives, and so refused to ‘perform’ for Herod Antipas after His arrest. He rejected even the temptation to come down from the cross at the challenge of the Pharisees, and so to put them to shame – and there was a greater miracle taking place.

One of the great temptations that people face today is that of being seen to be significant and successful. We are surrounded by entertainers – be they actors and actresses or sportsmen and women. Crowds flock to see them and millions around the world follow them and their ‘games’ on their television sets. Our world has become a world of moneyed entertainment, to such an extent that some warn that we are being entertained to death. There is also a temptation here for Christians and church leaders – to use Jesus to draw the crowds, and to dazzle them with hype and ‘signs and wonders.’ We can see on television sometimes how huge crowds keep coming to them – but there is no chance of the personal and life-changing ministry that Jesus desired. And, for all the wonder and excitement and money, there is not much of the Great Commission. Most of them will go home, many marvelling at what they have seen, but to the same lives and the same way of living. Spiritual entertainment and excitement, but not spiritual life.

So the way that Jesus modelled, and that which He passes on to us, is to preach and live the gospel and allow Him to change lives through it, at the very deepest of levels – and whether or not there are any public demonstrations of His power. However, we will find that this power is so often displayed out of the public eye, but nevertheless in a way that changes lives and situations forever. There are still signs and wonders, but they are not for entertainment. He does not wish to give us a few escapist moments in our lives, but to help us to find and live out the depths and beauty of the life that He has in store for us even now – not as spectators but as participants.

He, not just His power, is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He came amongst us as Saviour and Shepherd – to find, to heal and to lead the lost. As we ask Him, and follow Him, He leads us into it.

Praise the Lord!

Response:

Don’t long for or seek the the passing limelight of the world – seek the eternal light of God within you.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, Light of the world, I turn to you. May Your light shine upon, within and from me to Your honour and glory, Amen.

—————

(Matthew 4:1-4)

Reflection:

Jesus had just been baptised by John the Baptist. As He was praying “the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”(Luke 3:22). Immediately after this glorious affirmation, and having been filled with the Spirit, He went into the desert for forty days. It was here that Jesus ‘The Way’ determined how He was going to walk that way. He set the priorities, standards and values by which He would live and minister, facing the same challenges and temptations that we face every day. In determining His own ‘way’ He gives us a model on which to base our lives.

“He was hungry.” The first temptation was directed at His own very real hunger for food. With it came the challenge to prove His identity by using the powers that He would have in that capacity to satisfy these needs. Right at the beginning Jesus had to decide that His life, gifts and ministry would not be directed at His own comfort and needs. Unlike other kings and leaders – who would have included Herod and the high priest Caiaphas -  He would not look primarily to His own status and well-being,

“the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28)

Never do we find Jesus using His powers to satisfy Himself, in fact He would say that

“Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:20)

In this attitude and approach He stands in stark contrast to many of the men and women who today minister ‘in His Name’ – in political, professional, corporate, personal, and church arenas.

However, there is more to this temptation than just His own personal needs. He was also being tempted with regard to the direction and focus of His ministry. Satan was, cleverly, not trying to distract Him from that ministry, but attempting instead to get Jesus to be ‘The Way’ in the wrong way. He could have a very popular and meaningful ministry if He focussed on creating food and other commodities to meet people’s immediate physical, mental and emotional hungers. It would have a great social impact and be highly acclaimed. However, as Jesus clearly knew, although it would temporarily satisfy some of the hungers and needs of their present life it would not establish the Kingdom of God nor deal with the separation from God brought about by sin. These would have to be addressed in a different way, and in a way that would become personal to each and every individual, rather than through some form of mass production. His response, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” pointed to the deeper issues involved in life, and was one that He lived out Himself,

• “but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.” (John 14:31)
• “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.” (John 12:49-50)
• “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42)

Not for a moment would Jesus infer that people’s human needs were unimportant. In fact He would spend time dealing with them as they arose, including feeding them when they were hungry. But He never let them distract Him from His primary purpose of salvation and redemption, as

“ the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)

and the establishment of the Kingdom of God.

His final directions were very clear when He sent His disciples out with the Great Commission,

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And  surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

It does not exclude the physical needs of people, but it is not to be limited to them. The Church is not only a charitable distribution centre. A Kingdom people will do something about the human needs around them because of who they are, just as Jesus did. This was affirmed by the early church in the appointment of Stephen and the other deacons to oversee the daily distribution of food (Acts 6:1-6), as well as in the agreement, between Paul and the Jerusalem leaders, that in proclaiming the gospel he should remember the poor. The temptation for the church today would still be to focus only on immediate human hungers and to ignore the Great Commission.

As Jesus recognised the challenges and temptations that He would face, and established His priorities for His life and ministry, so should we all. We will then have a standard to live to and against which to assess and rebuke the temptations that we meet along the way:

• the temptation to try and use Jesus for our own material comfort and well-being.
• the temptation to focus mainly on meeting those hungers in others.
• the temptation to think that giving to the poor, by itself, constitutes Christian discipleship.
• the temptation use our gifts only for our own ends

There is more to being the light of the world than that – we need to be responsive to “every word that comes from the mouth of God.”  We are called to walk ‘The Way’ of Christ in His way. We are called to be those through whom He will change the world.

Response:

Our Way is different to the way of the world.  It is our challenge – and our privilege – every day of our lives – a step at a time.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, help me to be excited at the prospect of walking through life on a new way with You, and to seek to do so today. Amen.

—————-

No one comes to the Father except through me.”

(John 14:6)

 Reflection:

This is one of the great ‘I Am’s’ of Jesus – and contains three major statements, viz.

• I am the Way
• I am the Truth
• I am the Life

They are linked together for a purpose, which is that to reach the Jesus Life, we need the Jesus Truth  – and the Truth and the Life are only found by walking with ‘Jesus the Way’, and by doing so in the Jesus way. The Way leads to the Truth and the Life – all of which are found in Jesus. None of them are found without Him. He taught that, “No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

His great calls to His disciples were – “Repent”, “Follow Me”, “Believe in Me”, “Stay with Me”, “Obey My commands”, “Do as I have done for you”. The Great Commission was then based on these foundations,

“go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

This commission was to go and share with others what they had first received from Him, and to bring them also into a living relationship with Jesus. This too would be done in His company.

All of the disciples learned the truth, and entered into God’s new life for them, by first walking with Jesus. Along ‘the way’ He taught them, and showed them truths and acts, until the full truth of who He is dawned upon them. It was not found in private study, but in walking in a new way with the source of Life and Truth Himself. The new life followed with the gift of the Holy Spirit, after He had dealt with the old one on the cross.

Jesus is both the Way, and the way to walk that Way. The two go together as we cannot walk the Jesus Way other than in His way – the way that He did and has showed to us. To try and walk it in any other way, like the way of the world, will either take us off the Way into another, different way, or seriously impede our progress and relationship with Him.

The three temptations in the desert clarified, for Him and for us, the principles of the Way – and always in submission to the word of God,

1. My gifts and powers are not primarily for myself, nor to merely satisfy human wants
2. My purpose is to bring people to God and to a new way of living – not to entertain them
3. My ways must honour the end, they are as important. A good result cannot be achieved by rotten means.

The prophet was referring to this when he said,

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” (Isaiah 30:21)

Finally, St Catherine gave us a vision of the correct understanding,

“All the way to heaven is heaven,

Because He had said,

‘I am the way.”

Response:

Does my way of life reflect my relationship with Jesus? How should I sharpen the focus?

Prayer:

Lord, help me to understand and trust that Your way and ways are always the best. Amen.

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