Resolutely

Hey everyone. It's been a long time..again. I'm not going to even try to tell you about everything that has been going on in my life. :) The main things are I have moved to Morris and I am now working part-time. I would really love to get back into writing! I was doing my daily bible reading this morning and I am currently in the book of Luke. I read Luke 9 and a verse stuck out while I was reading, that I have never noticed before and a few things clicked together in my head about the life of Jesus.

I apologize in advance if my thought processes are slightly disconnected. Like I said, it's been awhile. :)

Luke 9:51 is the verse that caught my eye this morning. It says: As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.

So, what about this verse struck me as special? The fact that Jesus had to have resolve to set out for Jerusalem.

I teach a Sunday School class for grade 2 and 3 and over the easter season (Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday) we did a quick timeline review of Jesus' life. I got the kids to tell me all about Jesus starting with his birth and as much as they could remember until he died and rose again. During the discussions I did my best to explain that Jesus came to earth as a man and that he was both fully God and fully man. I wanted the kids to understand that he experienced life just like we do. He was born, he grew up, he faced fears, he made friends, he was tempted, he had friends betray him. On top of all that he was also God, he was perfect, he was obedient, he could perform miracles, he raised the dead, he healed people, he calmed the storm, he walked on water.

So in explaining this to the kids I was trying to help them understand that it wasn't easy for Jesus to die. He didn't want to die. He didn't want to experience pain and death! He struggled with it! So this verse caught my eye because it shows another example of Him not eager for suffering. He didn't want to go to Jerusalem, but he had resolved to go. He had firmly decided to go. Why? He loved each person (past, present, and future) so much that he knew he had to go through with the plan, to be able to offer a way of Salvation to all who believed in Him as Saviour.

I think that sometimes we can skim over just how difficult it was for Jesus to go through with his decision. He prayed that the cup be taken from him in the garden, but he was obedient to God's will. He was obedient to the decision that he had made at the beginning of time!

You can imagine the interesting conversations that arose in my Sunday School class. It is impossible for our human minds to fully grasp the amazing truth of God as man in the form of Jesus. Children will come up with very creative thoughts in an effort to understand something. One thing one of the kids said was "I want to see Him!" I agree with that. I want to see Him too! I want to see this God/Man who decided to give up himself so that he can be with me in eternity!

So that was my thought for you. Here's a challenge for me and for you. If Jesus decided to die for me, doesn't it make sense for us to decide to live for Him?