Acceptance from the Top
From John 13 – 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, 4 rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. 5 After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.
In one scene in The Greatest Showman, PT Barnum has arrived. From derided outcast, Barnum has gotten to the point of prominence wherein he and his family have been invited to appear before Queen Victoria. Barnum muses, "If you want society to accept you, you might as well start at the very, very top."
The same Truth is more radically presented by the Holy Spirit in John 13. We get a glimpse inside Jesus' certainty of His identity, his value in His Father's eyes. His acceptance comes from a top Barnum hardly envisions in approval available from Queen Victoria. And because Christ's ultimate validation comes from such a lofty and lasting place, he can dispense with Barnum's first condition. The thunderous approval from His Father is so resonant He can willingly, enthusiastically, do the job no one else wants to do. His Father's glow upon him, He can demonstrate follow-me passion in life's lowliest tasks.
Christians, then, we start each day pleading to be planted by grace in such a fertile vineyard. We would have the Holy Spirit remind us who we are in the Father's eyes. We would have Him remind us from whence we come, specifically to the Father's purposes in whatever arena He places us. We would also, brothers and sisters, have the Holy Spirit remind us, as with Jesus, that we are headed back there.
Thereby, we gain realistic expectations of the day and its conditions. They are a stopover, not a source of ultimate fulfillment. They are, at worst, a night in a bad hotel on the way to somewhere, and with Someone, so much better.
In one scene in The Greatest Showman, PT Barnum has arrived. From derided outcast, Barnum has gotten to the point of prominence wherein he and his family have been invited to appear before Queen Victoria. Barnum muses, "If you want society to accept you, you might as well start at the very, very top."
The same Truth is more radically presented by the Holy Spirit in John 13. We get a glimpse inside Jesus' certainty of His identity, his value in His Father's eyes. His acceptance comes from a top Barnum hardly envisions in approval available from Queen Victoria. And because Christ's ultimate validation comes from such a lofty and lasting place, he can dispense with Barnum's first condition. The thunderous approval from His Father is so resonant He can willingly, enthusiastically, do the job no one else wants to do. His Father's glow upon him, He can demonstrate follow-me passion in life's lowliest tasks.
Christians, then, we start each day pleading to be planted by grace in such a fertile vineyard. We would have the Holy Spirit remind us who we are in the Father's eyes. We would have Him remind us from whence we come, specifically to the Father's purposes in whatever arena He places us. We would also, brothers and sisters, have the Holy Spirit remind us, as with Jesus, that we are headed back there.
Thereby, we gain realistic expectations of the day and its conditions. They are a stopover, not a source of ultimate fulfillment. They are, at worst, a night in a bad hotel on the way to somewhere, and with Someone, so much better.
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