Lesson 87

In Today's passage, Jesus continues to prepare His disciples for His upcoming arrest and execution. He tells them that He has spoken in this way while He was with them so that they would remember it after He was gone. They could reflect on what He had said and understand it better after He was gone. There was much of what He was saying that they did not understand. They did not have the same perspective that we have today. They did not understand or believe that Jesus would rise from the dead.

Jesus told them that the role of the Holy Spirit was to teach them "all things" and to cause them to remember all that He had said. Indeed, the role of the Spirit is to bring to believers the life of Christ. The Spirit teaches us the things of Christ and makes Him a growing reality in the believer's life. This is the peace that Christ leaves with His disciples. The Spirit brings the Prince of Peace to abide with us always.

Even to these disciples who are facing bitter times with His imminent death Jesus instructs them to not be troubled, to not be fearful. When we rest in the presence of God, there is nothing that we need ever fear again. God is the most awesome and fearful presence in the universe. If we can rest at peace with Him, then we need fear nothing else. He is above all and all-powerful. If we are His children, then nothing can touch us that is not under His control. Whatever happens to our outward circumstances, God uses to draw us closer to Himself.

Jesus tells them that when they come to understand what is happening that they will rejoice instead of being sad. He is returning to the Father. Jesus was willing to endure even the pain and humiliation of the cross because He was being obedient to the Father's will. He knew that the Father would receive Him with glory and honor if He endured this moment and remained obedient.

It is difficult to see life from a long perspective when we are undergoing hardship. Each moment's pain attempts to force our attention on the present and each ache is a memory of the past. But, God forces us to see our lives from an eternal perspective. If we love Him, we must constantly ask, how is God glorified by my present circumstances? What is there is my present circumstances that is drawing me closer toward my Heavenly Father?

This is the attitude that we see in the words of Jesus. Everything is focused on the Father. Everything that Jesus says and does is centered on the divine. Jesus did not become less human because of this preoccupation with heavenly things. He became more human. It is the role that human beings were created to fulfill. Our hearts and souls fulfill their purpose when we are focused on the spiritual.

This world and all that is aligned with it is constantly attempting to distract our minds and cause them to dwell on our physical existence. Jesus faced all of these distractions as well. But, even in the end, His focus was on the glory of the Father. We cannot overcome the world by struggling against it. The way that we overcome the world is the same way that Jesus overcame the world. We focus on God.

If we allow our lives to revolve around God, everything else falls into the proper order. It does not mean we will have fewer problems, quite the opposite. But, it does mean that the problems that we do experience will be placed in their proper context. And, we will bear them in God's strength.

What is there that is distracting you from God's perspective today? Looking back on your last 24 hours, what was the main person or things that you were focused on the most?