Forward
We’re getting ready to take a little trip for Thanksgiving. We’ll be gone a whole week. There is a lot to do: get someone to check the mail, arrange for someone to keep the dog, be sure there is someone to preach on Sunday, that the worship services are covered, give the dog a bath so we’re not embarrassed when we drop him off, buy snacks for the trip, finish raking the leaves in anticipation of a possible snow storm, buy dog food for the dog, clean out the fridge, lock the doors, and deliver the dog to his temporary home. There are multiple purposes for this trip so there are also many things to remember to take. I have lists going everywhere. I really l need a list to keep track of my lists. As is always the case, it will be a relief to just get in the car Friday and get out of town. Though I always assume the relief will be tempered the first time I remember what I forgot to do or bring!
Jesus has taken a trip. He was here on the earth just briefly, for about 33 years. He has promise to come back, and so far it’s been nearly 2000 years. Wow! What a list He must have had to prepare for life during His absence. The interesting thing is that Jesus had almost nothing in the way of earthly belongings that needed proper care in His absence: no dog, no fridge, no house, no chariot. He just had His clothes, and the Roman soldiers took care of those (John 19:23-24).
But what He did have was people. He, of course, had a mother who needed care, and she was on His list (John 19:25-27). By His own words He had been given disciples (John 17:6). They were on His list. Then there were other disciples, for generations to come. They were also on His list.
I’m aware that taking care of a dog is really not that difficult. Even when we had to leave children at home, it was usually not that difficult to find quality people to care for them. That’s what Jesus did with His mother, putting her in the hands of a loving person.
But what about His disciples? What would He do for them? It was not so much providing for their physical needs: they were able-bodied men who could work for a living. But Christ had become for them the Savior of their souls. And the care of the soul is supremely more difficult than the care of the body.
Don’t you wonder what was on His list of things to do for His followers?
Well, you are about to find out. On the pages that follow are a month’s worth of articles about Jesus’ list. In the same way that we might talk with our spouse or secretary or assistant before leaving on a trip, so Christ had an amazing after-dinner conversation with His disciples to inform them about their provision in His absence. It is recorded in the Bible, in John 13-17. And it has a bearing on how Jesus’ followers are to live their lives today.
As always Jesus is generous beyond expectation in His provision for those He loves. And be assured: He didn’t forget anything! And oh, by the way, as His follower, you were on His list.
We’re getting ready to take a little trip for Thanksgiving. We’ll be gone a whole week. There is a lot to do: get someone to check the mail, arrange for someone to keep the dog, be sure there is someone to preach on Sunday, that the worship services are covered, give the dog a bath so we’re not embarrassed when we drop him off, buy snacks for the trip, finish raking the leaves in anticipation of a possible snow storm, buy dog food for the dog, clean out the fridge, lock the doors, and deliver the dog to his temporary home. There are multiple purposes for this trip so there are also many things to remember to take. I have lists going everywhere. I really l need a list to keep track of my lists. As is always the case, it will be a relief to just get in the car Friday and get out of town. Though I always assume the relief will be tempered the first time I remember what I forgot to do or bring!
Jesus has taken a trip. He was here on the earth just briefly, for about 33 years. He has promise to come back, and so far it’s been nearly 2000 years. Wow! What a list He must have had to prepare for life during His absence. The interesting thing is that Jesus had almost nothing in the way of earthly belongings that needed proper care in His absence: no dog, no fridge, no house, no chariot. He just had His clothes, and the Roman soldiers took care of those (John 19:23-24).
But what He did have was people. He, of course, had a mother who needed care, and she was on His list (John 19:25-27). By His own words He had been given disciples (John 17:6). They were on His list. Then there were other disciples, for generations to come. They were also on His list.
I’m aware that taking care of a dog is really not that difficult. Even when we had to leave children at home, it was usually not that difficult to find quality people to care for them. That’s what Jesus did with His mother, putting her in the hands of a loving person.
But what about His disciples? What would He do for them? It was not so much providing for their physical needs: they were able-bodied men who could work for a living. But Christ had become for them the Savior of their souls. And the care of the soul is supremely more difficult than the care of the body.
Don’t you wonder what was on His list of things to do for His followers?
Well, you are about to find out. On the pages that follow are a month’s worth of articles about Jesus’ list. In the same way that we might talk with our spouse or secretary or assistant before leaving on a trip, so Christ had an amazing after-dinner conversation with His disciples to inform them about their provision in His absence. It is recorded in the Bible, in John 13-17. And it has a bearing on how Jesus’ followers are to live their lives today.
As always Jesus is generous beyond expectation in His provision for those He loves. And be assured: He didn’t forget anything! And oh, by the way, as His follower, you were on His list.
Pastor Ron
Central Bible Church, Kalispell, MT
November 14, 2006
Central Bible Church, Kalispell, MT
November 14, 2006
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