Okay, I have to be honest…for just a second there I had the fleeting thought that Jesus told a lie.
It was probably the devil whispering it in my ear, right? I was reading at the very beginning of the text where it says that Jesus told his brothers he wasn’t going, but then he went later. So, He said He wasn’t going to, but He did. However, I know that I misunderstand what really happened, because the possibility that Jesus lied is, well…not even a possibility. There is too much evidence stacked up on the side of His divinity to sway an opinion based on innuendo in one sentence. Maybe what He actually said was “I’m thinking of not going” or “I don’t want to go”. Either way, I happy to report that I still believe that Jesus was sinlessly perfect. Whew…that was a close one. (There’s that sarcasm again)
“Rivers of living water” is a reference to the Holy Spirit, who will fill and overflow from believers in a never ending stream of insight, encouragement, ability, power and who knows what else. If the Holy Spirit is to be compared to a river, then Christians are to be continually soaking wet, splashing around, swimming and enjoying the sheer delight that being in the river brings. As Christians, we should never be spiritually “bone dry” because the water is always flowing.
Skipping over the woman caught in adultery for a moment:
The verse that really grabbed me today was 8:43. “you can’t even hear me”. Jesus utters this just after asking the question “why can’t you understand what I am saying?” There is nothing more frustrating than trying to explain something and not being understood. I speak a smattering of Spanish…just enough to get myself into real trouble… and when I try to converse with native speakers I don’t understand what they are saying, (because I can’t process as fast as they talk) and they use words that I don’t know. On missions trips we often end up frustrated because we can’t communicate. The same thing has happened when I tried to reason with my teenage children. They simply cannot hear what I am saying…I think it’s because they have already made up their minds about what is right, who is wise and who is not. Unfortunately for them (and me) I occasionally end up with the people they think don’t know anything. I say that it’s unfortunate….and it is, because I could have helped them avoid several very difficult situations if they had been willing to listen.
Many years later,I now realize that I am the teenager in my relationship with God. I often think I know what Jesus is going to say before He says it, so I help Him out by finishing the sentence and then setting off to do whatever I think He wants….before He has finished talking. That doesn’t always end well for me. I also have a hard time listening…not because I don’t want to, but because I was born into a world that is controlled by the devil. Let’s call it “carnal”, meaning “other than being like Jesus”. My carnal heart and mind are preconditioned to think carnal thoughts and desire carnal things. Although I was created by God and was designed for good, I was born into a carnal atmosphere and am completely infused with it.
Once Jesus came into my life…a miracle in itself….a small spot of “being like Jesus” developed inside me, and displaced the carnality. It was just a small spot, but I felt the change immediately. Then the spot, let’s call it “holiness”… began to grow. As it grew it displaced more and more of my carnal nature, replacing it with a holy nature. The work isn’t completed, but it is ongoing…from time to time my carnal nature still exerts itself in a situation. Sometimes it causes me to be “hard of hearing”…but it is temporary…since that nature is dying, and will in fact be completely erased from my body someday.
So on those days that I simply “run ahead” of what Jesus wants, or on the days that I am just not listening…I don’t despair, I simply tell the Lord “I’m sorry” and I allow Him to correct me. After all, God knows I am a teenager.
Back for a moment to the woman caught in adultery:
Jesus doesn’t condemn her because He is giving her a chance to repent. This is amazing, because she hasn’t asked to be forgiven, and there isn’t any indication given here that she takes Jesus up on His offer. I wonder if she left Jesus’ presence changed? I suspect that she did, and the irony of that is that the Pharisees, who were well educated, missed the significance of Jesus….and the adulterous woman (way down on the social scale) didn’t miss it.
The Pharisee who had spent his life studying leaves Jesus angry and unforgiven. The adulterous woman who likely couldn’t read, leaves relieved, filled with joy and hope and cleansed of all her sins.
“Lord, I don’t want to be an adulterous person…but I would like to receive what she did. And I pray that I will always keep my ears open to hear what You are saying to me. I know that the Holy Spirit is the one who helps in this way, and so I pray Holy Spirit, that you would help me to always hear, see and respond to what Jesus is sharing. Keep me far away from whatever schemes the devil is preparing.”
Faithfully,
PR