John Chapter 14: 1-14 – Three options to take
I am realising the importance of taking good options to help me cope. I happen to be in a situation which is out of my control but what I can do is clarify and confirm what I believe and know.
I think of those anxious parents who are in the church car park ready to send their sons off to Boy’s Brigade camp. Their luggage is deposited on the coach and all that is left to do is share some words of advice. This is when the lads are reminded to take care, be good, and enjoy themselves. John Chapter 14 is a part of the record of Jesus preparing his disciples to be able to cope after his death. There are examples of teaching, encouragement, warnings, and demonstration on how to react.
John 14: 1 ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me’
Jesus offers three options for the disciples to take. Those options centre around FEAR/FATHER & FAITH.
Do not be troubled is a comforting statement in the sense Jesus recognises that we are prone to being troubled. It is perfectly natural to be fearful of something that we have not faced before and when the outcome is not settled. But Jesus reminds them that they have the choice to make over whether their hearts are going to be troubled or trusting. When I am troubled, I try to not to let it remain in my heart because if I do it tends to grow and can take a hold over my life. Holding onto fear usually twists things all out of proportion.
Secondly Jesus reminds them that they believe in the Father. They knew God the Father as the creator and sustainer of the world and worshipped him as such. They were being prepared for the fact that when things were going wrong, they had the option to continue to worship their God.
Their third option was to realise that Jesus himself is God (verse 9-11 clearly explains it). Soon the followers of Jesus would have the option to rejoice over the fact that he was the Messiah, their Saviour and their fear could be transformed into joyful hope.
We will always be troubled in this world, it is something that we cannot escape, but we also have options to take which will determine how we will respond. The followers of Jesus went through a learning process as they took onboard the teaching of Jesus. They became confident and joyful and overcame their troubles because they did not let their hearts be troubled, they believed in God, they believed in Jesus – the recipe to overcome all of life’s difficulties.
Please take care, be good and enjoy yourselves!