#DailyDevotion Not The Way I Would Do It
Saturday Easter 7
John 17:15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.
You know God just doesn’t do thing the way I would have done them. Well that could apply to a lot of things in life, but this pray of Jesus just proves it. Why keep us in the world? Why can’t we just be beamed up as soon as we come to faith? Why does he leave us in the world with all the pain and suffering we’re going to undergo?
It kind of reminds me of Israel in the wilderness. The Israelites sin against the Lord and Moses so the Lord sends snakes to torment and kill the Israelites. The Israelites finally get it and repent. So what does the Lord do? Does he take away the serpents? Nooooo. What does he do? He has Moses make a brass serpent on a pole so whenever a serpent strikes someone, they can look at the serpent and be healed. The Lord never took the serpents away.
In similar fashion, the Lord Jesus said if I be lifted up, I will draw all to myself. He was speaking of his crucifixion. We are tormented on a regular basis by that old serpent Satan and his minions. Sin is ever biting at our heels. Yet even as we repent, the Lord doesn’t take us out of this world. Instead he gives us a promise that if we look to him, he will heal us. Our sins will be forgiven. Eternal life will be ours.
So Jesus prays instead that we be sanctified in his truth. That truth is the gospel, God has sent his son into the world to become the atoning sacrifice for our sins. This is the consecration Jesus is speaking about, his death. Jesus set himself apart for sacrifice. He set himself to be the Pascal Lamb so death may Passover us. He hangs upon the cross to become cursed to take away our curse. He has given us this image of himself and his work upon the cross so whenever we repent of our sins and look to him, we may know God is no longer angry with us and we are forgiven.
This good news sanctifies us. It sets us apart for God’s use. It declares us holy and makes us holy. In this sanctification, Jesus keeps us from the evil one. Jesus keeps Satan from having us fall away. He has chosen you of all people in the world to be saved and to be his own. He uses his power at the right hand of God to keep you faithful to him and to keep Satan’s power at bay in our life. We need only keep looking to Jesus and remembering what he has done for us. Not the way I would have done or do it. But he apparently knows what he is doing. We’ll just have to trust him on this.
Heavenly Father, your ways are higher than our ways. Hear the prayer of your Son Jesus Christ and keep us from the evil one and have us persevere in the faith unto life everlasting. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.