How resolute are you?
How resolute are you?
“As the time approached for Him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.” Luke 9:51 (NIV)
There was still much work to be done to complete His assignment here on earth. Nevertheless, He set His face towards Jerusalem knowing exactly what awaited Him there – persecution, false accusation, betrayal, scourging, death and ultimately resurrection. I believe at no other time was He so aware of His humanity. It was in pondering these events recently this word ‘resolute’ was highlighted to me.
Jesus had begun expanding His ministry by commissioning the 12 to heal, save and deliver the lost, He had multiplied food, been transfigured, healed a boy with an evil spirit but was resolutely focussed on the climax of His mission at the rugged Cross of Calvary. When being interrogated by Pilate Jesus replied “…for this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world…”
His resoluteness was a fulfilment of Isa 50:6-7 penned some 700 years earlier: - “I gave My back to those who struck Me, And My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting. “For the Lord GOD will help Me; Therefore I will not be disgraced; Therefore I have set My face like a flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed.””
I believe this kind of resolute determination should also be a hallmark of our lives as disciples of Jesus. He had been given an assignment to complete and when He gives us a task or commission, we must be resolute in carrying it through to completion despite the challenges that will invariably arise. I’m not talking about striving or hyper-religious activity but from a place of intimacy with the Father, ‘setting our face’ in obedience to seeing the task or mission fulfilled. The bigger the challenge the sweeter the victory!
Easter has for me, always been a time not only to reflect on the magnitude of Jesus’ sacrifice and the magnificent victory of the resurrection, but also a time to reflect on the ‘health’ of my spiritual journey. It is a time I believe to make the necessary adjustments to ensure our relationship with Jesus is deepening, growing stronger and bearing more fruit.
As we reflect on the Cross and all it accomplished for us, we too can be resolute in our devotion to the Saviour. We too can remain resolute in spreading the Good News of Jesus to all with whom we have contact. The news is simply too good for us to keep within the walls of our churches. There are so many people in the world who are searching for authentic truth.
It's so easy to get distracted by events taking place around us that we can take our eyes off Jesus even to the point of forgetting He has the last say. More than ever, I believe we desperately need to have His Word at the centre of our lives. WWDJ (what would Jesus do) was a catchphrase some time back and it adorned bracelets, T shirts and other items.
Perhaps it’s time for a new slogan WDHWS – What Does His Word Say? It may not roll off the tongue as smoothly. However, God’s Word has the answer to EVERY issue that ever has or ever will face mankind. It’s our guide to life! Jesus, the Living Word, who is full of grace and truth is also a lamp to our feet and a light to our path – hallelujah!
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” Rom 8:28.
Let us be people who like Paul are “persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Rom 8:38-39.
This Easter may the power of the Cross and the victory of Jesus’ Resurrection birth in you a new resoluteness to serve the Lord with gladness and make every day count for the Kingdom.
“Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul my life my all.”