WILL YOU REALLY LAY DOWN YOUR LIFE?
SCRIPTURE
Peter asked, "Lord, why can't I follow you now?
I will lay down my life for you."
-John 13:37
Jesus knew his time with the disciples was limited. He did not waste words as he spoke about going where they could not go (see John 13:33). What waited for Jesus and his followers wouldn't be easy, and Jesus wanted to prepare them.
Bumbling Peter tried to prove his allegiance by promising, "I will lay down my life for you." We stand there with Peter and want to say the same. However, like Peter, we don't always understand what it will take. Laying down our lives for Jesus is not simply a promise to stand up for Jesus in a cultural conflict. It is about laying down our will and right to control our own lives. This laying down of our lives doesn't begin in the big moments. It starts with the little ones. It starts with the words we use, the motives we act on, the priorities we choose, and the rights we protect.
I like the way The Message paraphrases the laying-down invitation in Romans 12:1: "So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life--your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life--and place it before God as an offering." Now that's a lay-down for sure. No strings attached. Here I am, Lord! Use me, move me, or tell me to stay.
If we learn to lay down our lives in small ways, we won't know any other way to live when a crisis comes. We won't miss the moment that holds more eternity than we imagined because we will already be in laying-down mode.
We can't brush Peter's boast away without recognizing where we have made our own empty promises. But we can start with the simple moments and learn what happens when we give them to Jesus without our expectations connected. Hear the question again: Will you really lay down your life? How are you answering it today?
BURNING QUESTIONS
1. How will you lay down your words and actions before Jesus without claiming your rights to them?
2. What has Jesus taught you about laying down your life that has grown your faith?
AFFIRMATION
I will surrender what Jesus points out to prepare me for whatever Jesus directs.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Life-giving Jesus, because you laid down your life for me, I have every good reason to lay down mine for you.
SCRIPTURE
Peter asked, "Lord, why can't I follow you now?
I will lay down my life for you."
-John 13:37
Jesus knew his time with the disciples was limited. He did not waste words as he spoke about going where they could not go (see John 13:33). What waited for Jesus and his followers wouldn't be easy, and Jesus wanted to prepare them.
Bumbling Peter tried to prove his allegiance by promising, "I will lay down my life for you." We stand there with Peter and want to say the same. However, like Peter, we don't always understand what it will take. Laying down our lives for Jesus is not simply a promise to stand up for Jesus in a cultural conflict. It is about laying down our will and right to control our own lives. This laying down of our lives doesn't begin in the big moments. It starts with the little ones. It starts with the words we use, the motives we act on, the priorities we choose, and the rights we protect.
I like the way The Message paraphrases the laying-down invitation in Romans 12:1: "So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life--your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life--and place it before God as an offering." Now that's a lay-down for sure. No strings attached. Here I am, Lord! Use me, move me, or tell me to stay.
If we learn to lay down our lives in small ways, we won't know any other way to live when a crisis comes. We won't miss the moment that holds more eternity than we imagined because we will already be in laying-down mode.
We can't brush Peter's boast away without recognizing where we have made our own empty promises. But we can start with the simple moments and learn what happens when we give them to Jesus without our expectations connected. Hear the question again: Will you really lay down your life? How are you answering it today?
BURNING QUESTIONS
1. How will you lay down your words and actions before Jesus without claiming your rights to them?
2. What has Jesus taught you about laying down your life that has grown your faith?
AFFIRMATION
I will surrender what Jesus points out to prepare me for whatever Jesus directs.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Life-giving Jesus, because you laid down your life for me, I have every good reason to lay down mine for you.
Posted in Lent