The Jews had picked up rocks to stone Jesus (John 10:31). Now, if we had been in that scenario as followers of Jesus, we would have been baffled and wondered along with Him – was He being stoned for healing the sick? Or feeding the hungry? Or for casting out devils? Or for cleansing lepers? All He had done was good. He was the source of so much goodness, light and refreshment to the soul. What was there to stone Him for?
As Christians living today, we affirm that Christ has done much more for us than all the good above. He actually died for each one of us so that we can become adopted children of God and co-heirs with Him for an inheritance awaiting us in heaven. As we repent, we are redeemed from the punishment due for our life of sin and empowered by divine graces to overcome sin and temptation. The Holy Spirit within us is the cherry on the icing.
Now Jesus asks us as he asked the pharisees. After all this life-giving good He has done for us, after dying so that we can be free from the power of sin over our lives, why are we rejecting His Word and His ways and doing our own thing? Why are we rejecting His teachings and succumbing to the dictates of our our own flesh and our own wisdom? Why are we only obeying some of His rules and not all of them? Why are we giving room to the suggestions of the devil that He has battled with on our behalf, after He has conquered him for our sake?
Why are we choosing sin over what Jesus would prefer as we make small and big decisions throughout our day? Why are we not living by the standards of Jesus? Are we not grateful for the pain and suffering He went through for our sake? Are we not grateful for the new lease on life that He has given us by His death and resurrection? For that is what every word or action that is in opposition to the will of Jesus is – a sign of ingratitude.
This ingratitude may stem from the lack of a personal connection to all that suffering and eventual crucifixion for the individual as well as a lack of depth to one’s understanding of the significance of the graces and awesome power opened up for the individual by that defining act. A deeper connection to the revelation of the death and resurrection of Christ is bound to incline any professed Christian to live in total obedience to Him out of gratitude and love.
Thinking about it, we are more grateful to human beings who bless us with relatively insignificant tokens. We are probably more grateful to our old loyal friends. If we had a friend that gave us one kidney for a transplant so we could live and the donor died in the process, we would let the whole world know about the ultimate sacrifice that friend made for us, and would forever sing their praises. We would look after their children and vow to never forget the sacrifice they made for us.
How much more Christ whose love for us is beyond comparison to the love or generosity of any person He has blessed us with, be they family or friend. We have been purchased by His precious blood. We owe Him our very lives and our hope for an eternal future. May we grow in our appreciation of Christ. May our enthusiasm to show gratitude to God never lag behind our enthusiasm to show gratitude to a fellow human-being. Amen.
Hilltop Thoughts, Valley Strengths 