John 5

I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. – John 5:30 NASB

Chapter five of John gives us one of Jesus' first and longest discussions regarding just exactly who He was. In an address aimed at the Pharisees, Jesus clearly teaches that He is the Son of God, referring repeatedly to God as His own Father. He claims to to be sent from God. And He states that He is on a mission from God. He says, "I assure you, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does" (Vs 19 NLT). As God's Son and as His representative here on earth, Jesus is fully determined to do His Father's will, and nothing more. Which begs the question, as a son of God myself, am I willing to do only what I see the Father doing? Do I even know what the Father is doing? Am I aware of His bigger plan, His kingdom agenda, or am I stuck planning and attempting to implement the agenda of my own little kingdom of one?

Back in chapter four, right after His encounter with the woman at the well, the disciples returned with food and encouraged Jesus to eat. His response was, "I have food to eat that you do not know about" (John 4:32 NASB). The disciples, as they were prone to do, scratch their heads and wonder out loud what Jesus is talking about, because as far as they can see, He has no food. Then Jesus patiently responds, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work." (John 4:35 NASB). Jesus got His sustenance, His nourishment, His energy – from doing what His Father had sent Him to do. It was His reason for being. It was why He was here. In fact, Jesus puts it this way in the very next chapter of this book: "I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do what I want" (John 6:38 NLT). In Matthew 20:28, we have these words of Jesus recorded: "For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many." It would appear that God's agenda involved Jesus serving as the ransom or payment for the sins of men. He was to be the substitionary sacrifice in our place. That is why He was sent, so that was what He was going to do.

But what about me? What about you? What have we been "sent" to do? Do we have a mission? Has God given us a job to do? It would appear that we have at least a part of our God-given mission recorded for us in Matthew 28:19-20. We're highly familiar with these words, but the question is, "Do we obey them?" Take a look at what Jesus said again: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20 NASB). Make disciples. Teach them to obey the commands of Christ. That is God's will for you and me. That's His assignment. But like Jesus, can we say, "I do not seek my own will, but the will of Him who sent me?" Too often, my agenda gets in the way. My will takes precedence over God's will. My agenda trumps His. Yet we're always asking what God's will is for our lives. And when we ask, what we're really saying is that we hope His will lines up with ours. We want it to be something WE want to do. We want it to be enjoyable. Yet Jesus came to suffer and to sacrifice His life for the sake of those who didn't deserve it, and for many who would never appreciate it. Why? Because it was His Father's will.

Are you and I willing and ready to do the Father's will regardless of the cost? Are we willing to let go of our will so that we might obey His instead? We are each called to be like Christ. What better way to follow His example than to do as He did and to make the Father's will the highest priority in our lives.

Father, You have a plan and You are working that plan to perfection. And the amazing thing is that You have chosen to include me in that plan. But I confess that I often put my will and my agenda ahead of Yours. I fail to do Your will and instead do my own. But I want to live like Jesus did. I want to find my nourishment, my source of energy from doing just what You have told me to do. I want to live obediently and faithfully within Your will. I want to be a disciple maker, helping build Your kingdom here on this earth until Your Son returns again. Amen