Acceptance of Jesus
Micah 5:2-4
Jesus & King David were both born in Bethlehem, which was too small to be noted when Israel was divided in the time of Joshua1. But when a king is from somewhere small, that place becomes notable. How notable is Jesus to you? This time of the year highlights the birth of Jesus and what he came to do and give to humanity. This can cause us to overlook the incarnation of the deity of Jesus, which makes him our judge, ruler, and instructor. Our attention to Jesus’ judgment and rule reveals whether we have accepted Jesus or only know of him.
To accept Jesus' judgment means that He is the standard and desire of our life. Our worship of Jesus might hide the fact that we merely accept Jesus and are not motivated to live our lives for Him. In Isaiah 29:13, the Lord expresses his displeasure about the empty worship towards Him because the hearts of the people were not delighting in Him, but were just responding to knowledge about Him.
Worshiping God has to be motivated by love. Saint Augustine expressed that our interpretation of the Bible could be measured by how the Scriptures deepen our love for God as well as our neighbor2. Paul told the Corinthians "to imitate me as I follow Christ" (1 Cor. 11:1). As Christ is the standard, He is also put in a position of power to give us instruction to love as well as to give us the power to love (1Thes. 3:11-13).
Let your acceptance of Jesus be emboldened this Christmas season through the love you have for Jesus and take steps to multiply that love to others.
1. Barry, John D., Douglas Mangum, Derek R. Brown, Michael S. Heiser, Miles Custis, Elliot Ritzema, Matthew M. Whitehead, Michael R. Grigoni, and David Bomar. 2012, 2016. Faithlife Study Bible. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
2 . Johnson, Keith L. 2015. Theology as Discipleship. InterVarsity Press Academic. pg. 11
Jesus & King David were both born in Bethlehem, which was too small to be noted when Israel was divided in the time of Joshua1. But when a king is from somewhere small, that place becomes notable. How notable is Jesus to you? This time of the year highlights the birth of Jesus and what he came to do and give to humanity. This can cause us to overlook the incarnation of the deity of Jesus, which makes him our judge, ruler, and instructor. Our attention to Jesus’ judgment and rule reveals whether we have accepted Jesus or only know of him.
To accept Jesus' judgment means that He is the standard and desire of our life. Our worship of Jesus might hide the fact that we merely accept Jesus and are not motivated to live our lives for Him. In Isaiah 29:13, the Lord expresses his displeasure about the empty worship towards Him because the hearts of the people were not delighting in Him, but were just responding to knowledge about Him.
Worshiping God has to be motivated by love. Saint Augustine expressed that our interpretation of the Bible could be measured by how the Scriptures deepen our love for God as well as our neighbor2. Paul told the Corinthians "to imitate me as I follow Christ" (1 Cor. 11:1). As Christ is the standard, He is also put in a position of power to give us instruction to love as well as to give us the power to love (1Thes. 3:11-13).
Let your acceptance of Jesus be emboldened this Christmas season through the love you have for Jesus and take steps to multiply that love to others.
1. Barry, John D., Douglas Mangum, Derek R. Brown, Michael S. Heiser, Miles Custis, Elliot Ritzema, Matthew M. Whitehead, Michael R. Grigoni, and David Bomar. 2012, 2016. Faithlife Study Bible. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
2 . Johnson, Keith L. 2015. Theology as Discipleship. InterVarsity Press Academic. pg. 11
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