John 7:1-24
Reflect
In this passage, the brothers of Jesus present a similar temptation that Jesus has already faced in the wilderness (“If you are the Son of God…” Matt 4:5-7 and Luke 4:9-12). “If you’re really someone special, why don’t you do something spectacular for everyone to see that will earn you recognition and approval?” But Christ resists their false encouragement. He is so very rooted in who He is, His mission and purpose, He is not swayed by others around Him who would take Him off course.
Such temptations are a reality for us today. We may be led to believe that we have not “made it” until our lives/work somehow play out on the public stage, affecting the world in some manner. But for followers of Christ, “the way of the [Christian] is not the upward mobility in which our world has invested so much, but the downward mobility ending on the cross” (Henri Nouwen).
In Jesus, we see what it means to be willing to do God’s will, and to seek His glory, not our own. We are led downward to the humility of the cross and then through the cross to His glorious resurrection. This journey is one that is most often done in secret. It’s not a public pilgrimage to a festival, but a quiet, unseen process where we choose to seek God first.
Pastor Melissa
Pray
- Pray through the prayer section in our program.
- Pray for Karen Alksne, our Congregational Life Ministry Associate.
- Pray for our Congregational Life Pastor, Mike Bartusek and his family.
- Pray for all our small group leaders.