Father, what a blessing it is to have Your presence throughout the day. It reminds me of my need for You and if I step off the straight and narrow You are quick to readjust my steps. I give You praise because You continue to use me regardless.
John 5:41-47 (<<click here to read the passage)
On a regular basis, I have students come to me lamenting that so-and-so has done this or said that. Some of them are just outright tattling, while others are trying to sway me – someone who is totally disconnected from the conflict – to take their side in the whole thing, as if that might in some way justify their own actions or viewpoint.
Well, I’ve been around long enough to know that there are pretty much always two sides to any given situation. But it can be difficult to get to the truth.
For example, last week I have three different girls on my elementary route who came up to me (which they are not supposed to do!) while at a stop to tell me of a boy (the same boy mind you) who was not being very nice in what he said to them. I got on him over the intercom and confronted him as he was getting off the bus. He adamantly professed his innocence in the whole incident. At the time as was more inclined to side with the majority but one of the last students to get off was a boy – one who I have found to be very trustworthy – who testified to the fact that it was the girls who were at fault, not the boy who they had accused.
It’s hard not to address situations as they occur because inevitably if I do not, things often get blown out of proportion to a parent and I end up having to go on the defense to see things are set right!
Another situation involved a parent reaching out to me, verbally outside my bus door at her child’s stop. Thankfully, the Lord had me tactfully interject a tidbit about the fact that maybe her child was not totally innocent in that particular altercation. (That ended up being the case and the parent was able to set the child in a better direction than they had been heading.)
We are often tempted to “take sides” thinking someone is right and that someone is wrong. But on this side of eternity, is that of the greatest importance?
At the end of John 5, Jesus is making it very clear that being found on the side of the religious leaders is of very little importance to Him. In fact, He says at the beginning of verse 41, “Your approval means nothing to me…”
To Jesus, the only side worth being on was the Father’s and to Him, it was obvious that they didn’t have God’s love within them.
So, in the course of your daily life, whose side are you on? Are you constantly tempted to pick the side that will get you the most bang for your buck? Do you always stick with the underdog? Or, honestly, do you strive to have God’s love within you so that regardless of the outcome here on earth, you have firmly stood by what you know to be God’s point of view?
Here is an excellent quote from my Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation: If even the highest officials in the world approve of our actions and God does not, we should be concerned. But if God approves, even though others don’t, we should be content.
And therein lies truth.
May 25th, 2021, Tues, 9:15 pm
