Living Stones – Thursday, September 14, 2017
Good works now
John 9:4
I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.
Jesus was always getting into trouble for doing good works. His good works always seemed to violate the Sabbath or other Jewish tradition directly or indirectly.
Jesus always seemed to have an urgency about doing good works, maybe with the exception of the delay in getting to Lazarus, and that was for good reason.
In John 9 we have a case where Jesus in response to a question from His disciples took the opportunity to talk about the urgency of doing God’s work. The disciples were not really asking about time, their question about the physical blindness of a man they met on the street was to figure out the relationship between sin and sickness. Jesus answered that question but also took the opportunity to talk about the urgency of the work.
The Jewish people had long accepted that there was a relationship between sin and sickness. We believe as Christians that God model of perfection included perfect bodies for us but that when sin entered the world through man’s disobedience everything was damaged including our bodies so they will be decaying and dying until we are glorified at the coming of Christ.
As expected, this lesson for his disciples, and this healing for the man, led again to trouble for Jesus with the Jews. The man also got into trouble with the Jews for that matter.
However, our focus is on the matter of the urgency about doing the work of God. There is sin and its effects and consequences around us all the time. There is sickness and disease around us all the time. There is hurt and brokenness around us all the time. And there are so many people who are separated from the love of God around us all the time.
Jesus make the point that while these needs are around us all the time there will not always be the time to respond to these needs. He puts it in terms of night and day. We work by day because night is not a time when work could be done.
Jesus used an analogy that was easily understood at the time but today we may think that with electric lights we could work at night. Apart from the fact that it was an era relevant analogy we are conscious that time does run out on almost every situation and circumstance that people face every day.
We need to help before the time runs out on them. Our good works are not to be delayed, our good works are to be done now in response to the needs that we encounter everyday as we interact with the people around us.
Think of these things
- Have you sensed the leading of the Holy Spirit to speak with someone about His care for them in a situation that they are facing?
- When last did you take someone aside to pray with them about their situation?
- Do you ever feel a sense of urgency to share what God can do when someone expresses their need?
Prayer focus:
Pray today that we become sensitive to the needs around us and the leading of the Holy Spirit to provide ministry.
In His Grace
Pastor Alex