January 20: Accepting His Love.
HIS STEADFASTNESS.
"Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?"--Matthew 26:53
I recently revisited the National Mall in Washington DC, which includes several monuments, such as the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington monument. When I had been there almost three decades ago, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial had not been built, so it was completely new to me. It is a stunning monument. Engraved on the walls of the monument are several of his amazing quotations, including this one from 1963: "Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."
When Jesus was arrested, Peter drew out his sword to defend Him and he cut Malchus's ear (John 18:10). I am pretty sure Peter wasn't going for the ear, but something more vital. But Jesus ordered him to put the sword away and said: "Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?" (Matthew 26:53, 54). If Jesus wanted to free Himself, He wouldn't have relied on a few disciples with swords. No! He was keenly aware of the supernatural resources available to Him! He was innocent, He had power, and He had other divine resources. And yet He didn't use any of these but restrained Himself in order to follow His Father's will for our redemption. The use of force was not in Jesus' plan. He was unwavering in His resolve to follow the will of God, even if that meant giving up His rights, His power, and His place in heaven. His steadfastness to follow God's plan, walking in the path set before Him, is contrasted with His disciples' response to the situation. We too may feel tempted to use force, perhaps not with a sword, but with words, attitudes, hierarchy, power, control, and other forms of coercion in our attempts to subdue our opponents. Yet God is asking us to follow the way of Jesus: the way of love, forgiveness, and humility (see Philippians 2:5-8). God bids us to put away our "swords," for "hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."
My Response:_______________________________________________
HIS STEADFASTNESS.
"Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?"--Matthew 26:53
I recently revisited the National Mall in Washington DC, which includes several monuments, such as the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington monument. When I had been there almost three decades ago, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial had not been built, so it was completely new to me. It is a stunning monument. Engraved on the walls of the monument are several of his amazing quotations, including this one from 1963: "Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."
When Jesus was arrested, Peter drew out his sword to defend Him and he cut Malchus's ear (John 18:10). I am pretty sure Peter wasn't going for the ear, but something more vital. But Jesus ordered him to put the sword away and said: "Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?" (Matthew 26:53, 54). If Jesus wanted to free Himself, He wouldn't have relied on a few disciples with swords. No! He was keenly aware of the supernatural resources available to Him! He was innocent, He had power, and He had other divine resources. And yet He didn't use any of these but restrained Himself in order to follow His Father's will for our redemption. The use of force was not in Jesus' plan. He was unwavering in His resolve to follow the will of God, even if that meant giving up His rights, His power, and His place in heaven. His steadfastness to follow God's plan, walking in the path set before Him, is contrasted with His disciples' response to the situation. We too may feel tempted to use force, perhaps not with a sword, but with words, attitudes, hierarchy, power, control, and other forms of coercion in our attempts to subdue our opponents. Yet God is asking us to follow the way of Jesus: the way of love, forgiveness, and humility (see Philippians 2:5-8). God bids us to put away our "swords," for "hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."
My Response:_______________________________________________
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