Sunday, March 09, 1997 In Your Absence:
This past Sunday, our class began a study of the challenges that confront each of us as we try to give Jesus greater control in our lives. Often, a person does not know how to demonstrate their love to Him, so they choose to not surrender their lives to Him, at all. Other times, a person becomes so concerned about what others might think, if they do sell out and give Him their all, that they hold back and give Him little or nothing. And of course, many times, each of us is simply controlled by other problems and concerns in this life, and these keep us from doing as we should for Christ.
In Matthew 26:6-13, we read of a particular account where a woman, named Mary, came to Jesus. But rather than falling into one of the above three situations of non-commitment, she was so overcome by her love and devotion to Him that she poured out a very expensive jar of ointment on His head. The others did not know what to make of her actions, but Jesus quickly told them that she was anointing Him for His death. He knew that the cross of Calvary was not far away, and this woman had been shown the same thing by the Holy Spirit. In anointing Him for death, she did not let anything come between her and what she saw as her service to Christ. Should we do any less? One of the conclusions to this week’s lesson is that we who know Him as Savior and Lord should not be dissuaded by cost or anything else.
Some important questions to consider:
1. How much of your resources do you use to meet your own needs?
2. How much of your resources do you use to meet the needs of others?
3. How much of your resources do you use for honoring the Lord?
Another conclusion of this week’s lesson is that we should keep our spiritual eyes open and be aware of God’s working in this life. We need to focus on the fact that this life is not all there is, but that it is only the first leg of eternity. Then, as we live out our daily lives, we can make our goals consistent with His. As followers of Christ, we should always be ready to give Jesus our all, to the end that the things of our life might bring Him the honor and glory that He deserves. I recently put the following statement on my desk at work as an encouragement to me and others:
Make it your goal to serve Him as you go through this week, and be sure to tell others what He has done for you. Thank you, and I hope to see you in class soon.
Tom of Spotswood"He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (I John 5:12)
"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)
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