John 17:
"I do not ask for these only, but for those who will believe in me because of their word" (v.20) Jesus has just been praying for His disciples and then He prays for me! How amazing is that? I am one who believed because of the words of His disciples as I have read them 2000 years after the fact.
He is praying for unity among his disciples but part of Jesus' prayer was "not that You [Father] take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one." How many times do we isolate and insulate ourselves from the world so we have no chance to talk to unbelievers about the life and salvation found only in Jesus? Why do we get angry when lost people act like lost people? How many times do we reject the world because they don't meet our standards? But how can they...they are lost!!
So what kind of legacy am I leaving behind? Who am I influencing that will know Christ because of my words and actions? How am I being salt and light in the world?
James 1:
"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds" (v.2) This is a hard one. I don't know anyone who actually welcomes trials and especially not with joy. But according to James we should because it perfects our faith.
In the days when this was written, the trials involved beatings and loss of property and arrest and even death. Twenty-first century trials in America may be of a totally different type. They may not even be trials at all but they still cause us anxiety - not joy. Do I think my paycheck is more important than speaking up against wrong practices at work; am I willing to lose my job? Am I willing to risk ridicule or loss of friendship by speaking to the non-believer next door about Jesus? Or what about believing friends who may have slipped into a wrong lifestyle? Will I love them and try to lead them back or will I shun them and gossip about them?
There's a car commercial on TV now about a guy who is ashamed because he owns the worst car in the cul-de-sac, not the wonderful car his neighbor owns. Am I willing to own the "worst" or oldest or cheapest car if it means having no debt, no matter what the neighbors may think? What about that 15 year old who gets pregnant? What if she's my granddaughter? Can I count it joy too speak truth into that situation?
Upholding Jesus, standing firm in Truth should guide all my choices, all my decisions no matter how difficult and I should count it all joy that Jesus gives me the opportunity to bring glory to Him.
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