A very foggy morning for driving, Father, but thank You for Your guiding hand for us all; drivers, parents, and students – no incidents! All praise to You. Amen!
Luke 5:12-15 (<<click to read the passage)
At the very end of last school year elementary school leaders and bus drivers, in an attempt to encourage safe behavior on our buses, came up with an incentive. The bus with the most “thumbs up” runs, with opportunities in the morning and the afternoon, gets to be “Bus of the Month” and students and driver get a pancake breakfast prepared by school administrators.
Striving for safety is a never-ending battle for all of us, but I would have no idea how many times in just one run that I repeat many phrases, “Sit down. Get out of the aisle. Don’t lean over the seat.” And the mantra for most school bus drivers which is visually displayed at the front of the bus and verbally repeated continually, it seems, is, “Seat on seat. Back on back. Feet on the floor. Hands on your lap. Quiet as a mouse.”
You’d think with all the repetition it would sink in…but it doesn’t. Even my middle and high school kids have to be reminded of it all the time. But we continue to say it all, in hopes that it will accomplish the desired ends – safety.
Jesus, in today’s passage, makes a request that he verbalizes but knows beyond any doubt that it will not be adhered to.
When He healed the man with the “advanced case of leprosy” He asked that he “not tell anyone what had happened” but instead to go and fulfill the requirements of the Law before the priests in regards to his healing.
Because of the public revelation of the leper’s healing about Jesus, Luke tells us that “vast crowds” began coming “to hear him preach and to be healed from their diseases.”
Why did Jesus even bother? He knew what was going to happen.
But here’s another question, why does Jesus bother forgiving us? He knows what is going to happen. We are fallible. We are most definitely not perfect. There are some things that don’t tempt us and somethings that rarely tempt us, that we can readily say no to. But other things…oh my! We are hard-pressed to avoid. Temptation surrounds us and we may hold off for a season but… Yielding comes far too easy.
But does that stop Jesus from forgiving us? Not one bit. He continues to do so because He also knows His persistence will accomplish the desired ends.
Many can testify to the fact that though temptation may still be out there that through God’s continuing faithfulness in forgiving us combined with regular time spent with Him, that we little by little begin saying “no” more and more frequently. Because of God’s persistence, we become victorious! His long-suffering becomes the foundation for, as the Apostle Paul proclaims in Romans 8:37. “…we are more than conquerors and gain an overwhelming victory through Him who loved us [so much that He died for us].” (AMP) To God be the glory! Amen and amen!
Jan 15th, 2020, Wed, 7:33 pm
