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- Apr 25, 2006
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18 October 2007
John 10 v 17-21
The Father loves me because I give my life so that I can take it back again. No one takes it away from me; I give my own life freely. I have the right to give my life, and I have the right to take it back. This is what my Father commanded me to do." Again the Jews did not agree with each other because of these words of Jesus. Many of them said, "A demon has come into him and made him crazy. Why listen to him?" But others said, "A man who is crazy with a demon does not say things like this. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"
How amazing is this?
It's so easy to get complacent about incredible things. When we hear about something so many times, we almost become immune to the reality. How many times, for example, have you switched off during readings of the Christmas story? You've heard it a million times - you know it so well that maybe it doesn't have the "WOW!" factor anymore. How did we get so casual about God becoming man? It's the same here. Just look at that statement!
"I give my own life freely."
We know that. We know that Jesus chose to sacrifice his life for ours. Have we become so used to the fact that we've forgotten what a stunning, incredible, shocking truth it is?
The people of Jesus' time certainly weren't immune to such a statement. It was so radical, so outrageous to claim that, not only was it Jesus' own free will, but God's will - that many of them thought Jesus was completely mad!
If you remember only one thing from today's reading - remember this;
Jesus chose, willingly, freely, to give his life for you - and would do so even if you were the only person on the entire planet that needed saving.
Now that's love.
I'm so sorry Jesus, that I've let something so astonishing become so mundane. I may not remember to tell you as often as you deserve - but I really do appreciate what you've done for me - and I'm so thankful. Amen
Written by Tracy Lambert
John 10 v 17-21
The Father loves me because I give my life so that I can take it back again. No one takes it away from me; I give my own life freely. I have the right to give my life, and I have the right to take it back. This is what my Father commanded me to do." Again the Jews did not agree with each other because of these words of Jesus. Many of them said, "A demon has come into him and made him crazy. Why listen to him?" But others said, "A man who is crazy with a demon does not say things like this. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"
How amazing is this?
It's so easy to get complacent about incredible things. When we hear about something so many times, we almost become immune to the reality. How many times, for example, have you switched off during readings of the Christmas story? You've heard it a million times - you know it so well that maybe it doesn't have the "WOW!" factor anymore. How did we get so casual about God becoming man? It's the same here. Just look at that statement!
"I give my own life freely."
We know that. We know that Jesus chose to sacrifice his life for ours. Have we become so used to the fact that we've forgotten what a stunning, incredible, shocking truth it is?
The people of Jesus' time certainly weren't immune to such a statement. It was so radical, so outrageous to claim that, not only was it Jesus' own free will, but God's will - that many of them thought Jesus was completely mad!
If you remember only one thing from today's reading - remember this;
Jesus chose, willingly, freely, to give his life for you - and would do so even if you were the only person on the entire planet that needed saving.
Now that's love.
I'm so sorry Jesus, that I've let something so astonishing become so mundane. I may not remember to tell you as often as you deserve - but I really do appreciate what you've done for me - and I'm so thankful. Amen
Written by Tracy Lambert
