Friday, April 18, 2014 -waste Not, Want Not (2)

Waste not, want not (2)

As we walk through the seasons of our life, we find ourselves wanting more out of life – more joy and peace, more meaning and satisfaction, more gentleness, more forgiveness and caring.  The only supply to these needs is the cross of Jesus.  Jesus provided healing and forgiveness for us by being obedient to death even death on a cross.  Over and over again during His life on earth Jesus said He came to do the will of His Father.  His prayer of commitment, the night before he went to the cross over 2000 years ago was, “Not my will but Your’s be done.”  His actions all the way through His trial, suffering and death on the cross confirmed His surrender to complete the work He came to do.

Our experience of love and satisfaction in life is tied directly to being obedient to the ways of God.  Jesus described that way for us in these words: ““If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.  (Luke 9:23-24 NLT).

When times are tough, we know that as surely as God raised Jesus from the dead, He will take us through our hard times. We, like Jesus, need to keep on surrendering to God’s way no matter how difficult our circumstances may be.  This is the gift of Jesus’ example to us from the cross.  Let’s not waste it.

All of us have some things that we are willing to put on Jesus.  However, many of us have other things that we’d rather hang on to.  Some of these things may be troublesome and others might appear attractive.  No matter what they may be, if we hang on to anything that is outside of God’s will for us, it will rob us and our relationships of the joy and beauty that God intended.  Jesus laid everything down so the full plan of God could come alive for you and me.  Will we follow Jesus and willingly lay down anything in our lives that God asks of us?  If we are willing to do so we will experience the satisfying richness of life with Him.  Jesus promised us that life with God is good and pleasing. We have another chance today to allow the cross of Jesus to give us a new start.  Are we willing to surrender to Him the clutter we’ve allowed into our lives?  Let’s not waste this opportunity to be free from everything that hinders our relationship with our Heavenly Father.  Let’s rejoice in the fact that, He whom the Son of God sets free is free indeed.

Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.(John 4:34, Ephesians 6:6, Romans 12:2 NLT)

God invites us to find our foundation in His love.  He encourages us to keep our commitment to doing what is right – loving God and loving our neighbour as we love ourselves.   We can’t earn God’s love.  We can’t deal with the things that have gone wrong in life. We can’t force things to go in the way we think is right.  The cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ stand as unquestionable evidence that God loves us and has provided a way for us to be conquerors in all we do.   We waste God’s mercy and generosity if we chose to walk in the dark, the negative, or the self-centered.  God has made a way for us to walk in His light with peace and joy and settledness in our hearts. As we approach Easter, let’s practice the advice found in the slogan, “Waste not, want not.”

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