Day 214: Imagine Jesus

John 3:22-36; 1 Chronicles 13-14; Zechariah 3

Wow, powerful words: "Jesus must become more important while I become less important." These words from John sum up my goal for my life. It's tough and I fail miserably a lot, but man, what an incredible witness for the power and significance of Jesus in our lives. If we can truly embrace such a philosophy that drives every thought and decision, our lives have meaning beyond the 70ish years we spend on this planet.

John goes on to say that basically, Jesus is all of God and has everything, including the power to offer salvation. If we have faith in Jesus, then we get to live in the grace and glory of God forever, but if we reject Jesus, then we will spend eternity suffering the consequences of our neglect. Serious stuff. Not narrow-minded thinking, but a way to be restored to the relationship we were meant to have with our creator and God.

David danced and praised The Lord with all his might. I definitely don't do that all the time in my times of worship. I often hold back for fear of looking silly or being perceived wrong. But there are times when I picture Jesus Christ, standing in front of me with his arms stretched out and it is in those moments when my heart breaks open and I sing praises to God with all that my soul possesses. What if, when we sang praises at church, we imagined that Jesus the Christ was standing at the front of the church? How would we sing then? Would we pay attention to the words better? Would our hearts be humbled, opened, softened?

David realizes "that The Lord had made him a powerful king of Israel for the good of his people." Why? For David's fame? To stoke his ego? To answer David's prayer to make him wealthy? No, it was for the good of the people. God put David in that place not for his own selfish gain, but to use that position to help the nation. It's the same reason God gives us various gifts--money, singing/playing, teaching, hospitality, leadership etc.--so that we might use those things not for ourselves but to help others.

I love the story of David in these next verses. Before each move, he asks God what he should do, and follows God's instructions exactly (even if they seem a bit strange). What if we started doing that? Asking God for guidance in everything--how we spend our money, how to raise our children, what career path to take--and then actually obeyed his whispers to our hearts. David was successful, not because of his own strength, and he recognized that; his victories were a result of God doing it for or with him.

In this vision in Zechariah, the stained clothes of Joshua are replaced by clean priestly clothes. In the next breath, God promises to forgive the entire nation in one day. Wow, God takes our filthy sin away completely, and in a moment, replaces it with fresh clothes, and not just clothes of a pauper or a servant, but clothes of a priest. We are valuable in God's eyes, and when we surrender to his leadership and his forgiveness, we can truly have a meaningful place in his kingdom.