For This Purpose
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John 12:23-32
23. And Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified. 24. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26. If any one serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be also; if any one serves me, the Father will honor him. 27. "Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? `Father, save me from this hour'? No, for this purpose I have come to this hour. 28. Father, glorify thy name." Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." 29. The crowd standing by heard it and said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him." 30. Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. 31. Now is the judgment of this world, now shall the ruler of this world be cast out; 32. and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself."
I wonder if Rick Warren used this passage as the basis for his book,
The Purpose Driven Life? “No, for this purpose I have come to this hour.” I have often wondered at what age Jesus grasped his purpose. I do believe he was divine, of course, but he was also human -- with the human qualities we all have. If he grew as “normal human child” I would imagine he was a full-grown adult before he completely grasped how God’s plan was to be fulfilled. That may not be theologically sound, but that’s where I am with this whole God/man issue!
Anyway, I have realized after reading these verses that I need to get myself back on track. I had been meditating, and spending quite a bit of time in prayer and just sitting quietly, trying to “hear” God’s word. Well, we’ve been in our new house over a month now, and I’m not back where I need to be yet! Time to stop using that as an excuse! Jesus never let it go that long! He immediately drew away from the crowds when he needed to reconnect with His Father. He sought out whatever little chunk of time he could find and took advantage of it. That’s how he stayed connected to his purpose too. By consciously focusing on it and pursuing it.
I have some big decisions to make in the next few weeks and I’m going to need God’s wisdom to feel certain I’m making the right choices. The only way I’ll be able to do that is to practice those disciplines I’ve let slide lately. Beyond that, like Christ, we are to glorify God with our lives. If we look to our options from the point of view of how will this decision allow me to bring glory to my God, we can rest assured we have made the correct choice.
Is your soul troubled? Sometimes even when we are sure we’ve made the right choice, it’s not easy. It may mean that we are required to give up something we very much want, or that we will have more challenges, or that our faith will be tested even more than it is right now. But we must choose the path that leads to our purpose. We must glorify God with our lives. When we compare the choice Christ had to make - over and over again -- we really can’t feel too burdened, can we?
Jesus promised us that if we choose Him, we will be rewarded in Heaven. If we glorify God, we will share in that glory at the end of time. If we discern our purpose and base our lives upon achieving that purpose, we will be true to our call to be disciples of Jesus Christ.
I hope today you answer with a resounding, “Yes,” when you are called to fulfill your purpose. And that you do not let your heart be troubled, because you know that where you are going, Christ has already been.
Mary
