Every once in a while you come across one of
those passages that really just grabs your attention and slows you in your
tracks. You know the type that causes you to pause and consider the text a little
more deeply, to think a bit more intently. For instance, when Jesus says that many will come saying “Lord, Lord” and
He’ll tell them to depart because He never knew them (Matthew 7:22-23). Or how
about when He states how there is a narrow way that leads to life, and few find it (Matthew 7:14). Another
example for me is where Solomon warns that there is a way that seems right to
man, but in the end it leads to death and destruction (Proverbs 14:12, 16:25).
So this past weekend I came across on of those
types of passages. Of course I had read it before but since I hadn’t exactly
selah’d on it in a while, it seemed to hit me afresh. The scripture I’m
referring to comes from John 12:27-30. To set it up for you, Jesus’ soul is
distressed because His arrest and crucifixion is looming ever closer. With the
shadow of the cross darkening the hour, Jesus asks the Father to glorify His
name through all He is about to endure. Then suddenly, amazingly, a voice of
affirmation descends from heaven. God clearly spoke! “I have glorified it, and
I will glorify it again.”
Notice what happens next. The audible voice of
God was observed by those gathered, but they quickly reasoned it away as
something else. The crowd definitely heard something. But they apparently weren’t
sure what they perceived. Was that thunder? Did an angel speak to Jesus?! Then
we notice our Savior points out something terribly significant: the voice was
not for Him but for them… And yet, somehow
they missed it.
So why does this passage trouble me? Answer: because
I don't want to be that crowd - so busy, so preoccupied with life that
I fail to hear the Divine speak. I wish to avoid being so scared that I dismiss
God’s clear declarations for something else. See, this story requires me to ask
myself some important questions. Is the Lord showing me something that I’m
failing to see? Are my spiritual ears clogged? Is my heart enlightened to see
the Spirit’s leading?
Here’s the deal, sometimes like with Elijah,
the Lord chooses to get our attention through the gentle whisper instead of the
spectacular (1 Kings 19:11-12). However, in this passage from the Gospel of
John, we see something from the magnificent end of the spectrum. God’s voice
was confused for a boom of thunder! Not exactly a low whisper, huh?
If the crowd was anything like me, it wasn’t
that they missed His voice. They just wish they had. They were scared to death
to acknowledge it as truth because it clarified Jesus' identity as the Messiah. So,
have you heard Him correctly? Perhaps you too are frightened to move forward. Jesus
as Savior is pretty sweet! Jesus as Lord means I’ve got to hand over the keys
and surrender my agenda. Doesn’t sound like much fun (especially since I’m a
control freak)… How will this work anyway? It’s uncomfortable. I mean, why
would God call me? Use me? I’m not qualified. I’m not ready. I just plain don't want to! We could go on and
on and on.
The truth is that Christ came to call the
shots. He was sacrificed in our place to take our every burden and truly set us
free. He came to destroy our strongholds, to liberate us from all that hinders, even from ourselves. May we not dismiss the Divine but have the courage and
clarity to hear the summoning Savior. Might we enter this week alert and in
tune with the Spirit so that our lives might bring glory to the Father. Praying we
make much of Him…
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