An online study on the gospel of Matthew. Would I like to listen? Well, yes…
Do you ever find yourself listening to a familiar Bible passage, and suddenly your eyes are opened to a new way of looking at what is written? This has been my experience with this study.
What has been unexpected for me as they talked about the early chapters of Matthew was to picture this part of Jesus’ life: first, His baptism where the Spirit filled Him and God spoke His blessing-- “This is My Son whom I love; with Him, I am well pleased”; then the Spirit driving Him into the desert, where after 40 days of fasting, He faced and passed the devil’s temptations; and lastly, filled with the power of the Spirit, He walked onto the stage to begin His ministry.
And yet…the synoptic gospels tell us often of His rising early in the morning to go to a solitary place to pray….so, here is Jesus—Son of God—Beloved of the Father—filled with all the power of the Spirit—still choosing to constantly spend time alone with God.
And if Him, how much more we! I wonder if we truly followed in His footsteps, spent time with the Father at the start of each day…would we walk differently through our days?
Imagine Jesus in those morning hours with His Father. Do you think they exchanged lots of words, or was it just being present to each other with the Spirit, with Jesus being filled up with love, to walk into whatever and whoever that day would hold.
Is there an invitation for you here to ponder these things and to consider a new way of living? Not a fear-filled idea of expectations we can’t possibly fulfil, but an invitation to walk in our world as Jesus walked in His, filled with the Spirit, refreshed by quiet times with the Father—to live out of the overflow of God’s love to us and through us? Quietly. Naturally. Being present. Being aware.
I wonder how our days would unfold as we did that. Pausing to check in with the Spirit as we walk through our regular day; being aware of His Spirit within as we met each situation and person.
Allow the wonder of the possibility of this to well up and catch you into joy…
“Joy?” you may ask. Remember Jesus saying, “I have told you this [to remain in my love] that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete.” (John 15:11)
Are you ready for a new adventure? I know I am.
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