Thursday, August 15th, 2024
Lately, I have been reading through the gospels. There are so many good nuggets in there. It’s incredible to see how Jesus loved, how He was moved with compassion and how He righteously addressed those who despised Him. There is much we can learn from His time on earth. One of the specific verses that stuck out to me recently was John 10:32-33:
32 Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?”
33 The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.”
We know there are numerous scriptures addressing the goodness of God. God is good. Everything He (God/Jesus/Holy Spirit) does is good. Whether we can fully comprehend the level of goodness does not negate its presence. It may simply highlight our need for humility or a switch to our spiritual eyes. Everything Jesus did on this earth was good. Every single sinner He healed and loved on, His defending of His Father’s temple, His bringing truth to the Pharisees veiled eyes, His death on the cross.
But the Pharisees didn’t see it this way. They were going to stone Him not for the good things He did, but for what they thought was blasphemy. Those of us on the “2,000 year later outside” may be quick to judge them, but it probably wouldn’t take long for all of us to find examples of where we all answered Jesus in a similar way.
Instead of waiting for an answer from Holy Spirit, we decided to take the job that we thought would make the most comfortable future for us. Instead of talking to that person in the grocery store that God asked us to talk to, we decided to switch up the order of our to-do list. Instead of believing for the healing that God promised us we decided to take that prescribed drug that God asked us not to. Instead of not responding to that family member that tried to provoke us, we carefully crafted a response highlighting all of our grievances.
While we may not be saying the same words as the Pharisees, doesn’t it feel just like we are telling God that He is not good, and He isn’t really capable of taking care of our every need? Please know, this is not meant as condemnation. It’s a moment to stir up our faith in the goodness of God. He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings. There is no one that knows better than Him. There is no one that has a better path than Him, and that includes us!
Final Thoughts…
Jesus, we don’t ever want to doubt Your goodness. We don’t ever want to take You off the throne of our lives or make You out to be anything less than You are. Please nudge us (as forcefully as needed) to keep us on this path. Humble every part of our being so that we never even consider living a single moment without You. You are our God, our King, our Heavenly Father and our Bridegroom. We don’t ever want to doubt or reject any characteristics of Your perfect nature. Help us to know You more and more. Help us to put down our stones and never pick them up again.