Even Me!

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. Galatians 6:14-15

I can think of three goals Jesus came to earth to accomplish:

     1. To fulfill prophetic scripture.

     2. To provide a means of salvation that we could never attain on our own. 

     3. To show us who the Father is and what He's like.

     It is this third goal I'd like to focus on.  Repeatedly, throughout the gospels, we see Jesus reflecting the love of the Father:  to the woman who touched His robe, to Zacchaeus, to the woman at the well, to the father whose son had seizures, to His disciples.

     Let's take a look at His disciples.  They are much like us, that is to say, they were far from perfect.  They were quarrelsome, jealous (remember them arguing about which of them was the best, while Jesus was preparing to go to the cross?), boastful, inconsistent and doubting.  Jesus knew all about them.  As He prepared to sacrifice His life for them (and for you and me), He knelt down and performed the function of the lowest servant; He washed their filthy feet. Then He told them (and us) to do likewise.

     Jesus loved these men despite their pettiness, their imperfections.  They became the foundation of the early church--true New Creations.  They didn't let their past sins and failures paralyze them into ineffectiveness.  Instead, embracing the New Creation, they were transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, and used mightily.

     Have you ever felt that because of your past (or maybe your present) God couldn't embrace -you?  You're wrong. You're ignoring the clear lesson of the gospels.  You don't have to try to hide anything from Him.  You can't.  You don't have to strive for God's approval.  You already have it.  Oh, by the way, just as He used imperfect disciples 2,000 years ago, He can use you in a mighty way.  After all, aren't you a New Creation?

May I never boast except in the cross of my Lord Jesus!  And remind me that I cannot and need not hide anything from you. Lord, help me to remember that I am a New Creation!