“in christian life, disappointments will come. people who used to be lights will flicker away and those who used to stand with us will turn away. we must build our faith not on fading lights but on the Light that never fails.” — My Utmost For His Highest
the feeling of loss and abandonment always brings sadness. today we are warned that friends, loved ones, and supporters may just slip away when we choose to follow or stand up for Jesus. but we must constantly and totally be focused on the face of God and not mind this eventuality at all.
meditating on Christ’s passion and crucifixion today, we remember that Jesus experienced the worst kind of rejection, abandonment and suffering because of His firmness of faith and conviction. He never lost sight of God’s purpose for Him, not even when His closest friends denied, betrayed, and deserted Him. neither did He when He was mocked, rejected, beaten, scourged, spat on, hated, and then, crucified.
Jesus looked to God unwaveringly and unceasingly, “to the Light that never fails”, and triumphed in the end.
How as a man could Christ have done it?
from His friends’ perspective, they must have thought He was crazy. all He needed to do to avoid all that was to play along with Pilate who was practically cueing Him to deny that He was King. Pilate didn’t want the blood of Jesus in his hands.
but no, Christ instead played along with God’s plan. He surrendered Himself in toto. this act of surrender was what gave Jesus, the Man, the courage and endurance.
what i find incredible, as it is enlightening, is that surrendering to the will of God not only made Jesus invincible but it also gave Him the largeness of heart, the mercy and compassion for his crucifiers. “Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do.” – Luke 32:34
acknowledging His surrender, Jesus asked God to forgive the crowd of their crimes. if it was God’s will that He should die, then all His crucifiers were only there to “cooperate” in fulfilling it. thus, Jesus saw them all as innocent. Jesus, both man and God, forgave them all.
amazing!
similarly, in our love and desire for the Lord, as in any romance, we must focus on the object of love, on God Himself… in pleasing Him and doing His will, completely unmindful of what is happening around us or who is going against us… lest we be swayed, tempted, distracted, or lost.
fully believing and trusting that God only wants and plans what is best for us has to be there first though.
we surrender to the desires, the will of our Beloved Father for us. this act of surrender gives us the needed shift… the wonderful, magnanimous shift in perspective and energy. we become emboldened yet accepting, firm yet forgiving when things/people work against us in the process.
that, i believe, is how saints are made.
LOVE. TRUST. SURRENDER. FOCUS.
“My dearest Beloved, You teach by example. grant me the grace and spirit to surrender completely to Your will for me and the world… to stand firm for You, no matter what. remind me always that whatever difficulty, whatever temptation, rejection and trial i may face in my journey back to the Father, You experienced and overcame it first. I love you, my sweet Jesus.”
zippersandrivets 