John 6:40 “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” This episode gives two examples of how we might be able to help God with his mission. It also talks about 10 traits that Jesus had. Music:"Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
How Can We Help God?
John 6:40 “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
The will of God is for everyone to look at Jesus and believes in Him so that we can all have eternal life. How can we help God with this? God is always doing so much for us, is there a way we could help Him with what he wants? I think there are a few ways we can help the Lord out with this mission. The question is not is there anything we could do, the better questions is will we do anything to help. Some of the things that we could do to help may take time out of our day, but won’t cause us much un-comfort. However there are others ways we could help that may cause us to step outside of our comfort zone. You get to choose not only how you will help, but if you will help. The good news about choosing to step outside your comfort zone is, that is where all growth happens. We do not grow when we stay inside our comfort zone.
The way I read this verse, it sounds like the Lord’s mission is for everyone to look upon Jesus and believe in Him so that they can have eternal life. I am going to go over two ways that I feel we can help the Lord out with this mission. My call to you is to listen to these ideas and see if either of them resonate with you. Do either of them sound like something you would like to do? I know God can do all things, He doesn’t need our help with anything. He is the almighty God, maker of all things. That is what makes the decision to help all the more special. He doesn’t need our help, but I am sure He would welcome it. God doesn’t need anything. What do you get someone who doesn’t need anything? Something money can’t buy, and for God, that is our love and our appreciation. Helping Him out is giving Him both.
The first way I can think of to help everyone to meet Jesus is to pray for all souls. Yes, pray for everyone, those you like and also those you don’t like, especially those you don’t like. Pray for your enemies because they probably need prayers more than anyone else. Pray for those that you feel may be evil or whose actions are unkind. Pray for those you don’t know, pray for the poor, pray for the sick, and pray for the lonely. Pray for the conversion of all souls. Pray for those in purgatory. It is not too late to pray for those that have died. Its never too late to pray for someone. You may look at some people and think that it is too late because they may seem so evil. Keep praying for them. Keep praying that they meet Jesus. It doesn’t have to take you a lot of time. You don’t have to spend hours praying for this. It could be a few simple sentences added to your daily prayer time. Lord, I pray for the conversion of all souls. I pray for the repentance of all sinners. I pray that everyone meets Jesus and that they believe in Him. I pray that everyone should have eternal life. God wants intercessors, especially for those sinners. He wants to know that we care about their souls. He wants us to intercede on their behalf.
The second way I thought of was that we could try hard to be a reflection of Jesus to all that we see. We can watch how we live and how we interact with others. What if we started to think of all of our interactions with other people through the lens of “What if my interaction with this person is the only time they will get to witness Jesus?” Can you let Jesus’s light shine through you? Can you interact with others as Jesus would? The world can be a very unkind place, especially lately. Actually, as I say that I am thinking that it was never probably that kind. I mean at the very beginning of time Cane killed Able. Then the world was such a terrible place when Noah lived that God flooded the entire thing. I think people always think that the time they are living in is the worst, but I think it has probably always been bad.
However, when Jesus walked the Earth people could tell that He was different. Why was He different? What did He do that was so different from others? He was kind to everyone. He did not treat people differently because they were poor, or because they were wealthy. He did not treat people differently because of their job, their religion, their gender, or any other thing that differentiates people. He was kind to everyone. He was loving and accepting to everyone. He welcomed everyone and made them feel like they were the most important person in the world. Have you ever been around someone like that? There are some people out there that are really good at this. They are genuinely interested in you and all you have to say. Right from the start the conversation is mostly about you, not because of any agenda, just because they want to get to know you. They pay attention when you talk, they ask questions to learn more, they encourage you and cheer you on. There are people out there that accept you for who you are and love you right where you are at. These people, are living examples of Christ. How can we be more like them? How can we be more like Christ?
I looked up the character traits of Jesus because I think if we are going to try to be more like Jesus it would help to know more about who He was and what traits we need to work on. Here is what I found. If you would like to read the whole article I put a link for it in the show notes. (click here). It was a great article by Michael Krauszer with more detail on each trait!
1.) Jesus was COMPASSIONATE. Matthew 9:36 says, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a sheperd.” How can we be more compassionate this week?
2.) Jesus was a SERVANT. Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as ransom for many.” Who can we serve this week?
3.) Jesus was LOVING. Jesus died on the cross for our sins, could he be any more loving? How can we be more loving this week?
4.) Jesus was FORGIVING. Luke 23:34 “Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’ And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.” How can we be more forgiving this week?”
5.) Jesus was COMMITTED. Jesus ran into lots of obstacles and yet he remained committed to His mission. Matthew 26:39 “Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My father, if it be possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Even facing death Jesus was still committed to God’s plan. What could we be more committed to this week?
6.) Jesus was PRAYERFUL. Luke 5:16 “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Jesus prayed often, even in the busy times. How can we be more prayerful this week?
7.) Jesus was GENTLE. Luke 8:46-48, “ But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.” And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.” Jesus was gentle when he dealt with the people He was helping. How can we me more gentle this week?
8.) Jesus had PATIENCE. Jesus was so patient with not only the apostles, but with almost everyone He came in contact with. Imagine for a moment that you are God, you know everything, and yet you are walking around on Earth surrounded by humans. Imagine the patience it must have took for Him not to get frustrated on a daily basis with our lack of understanding. How can we be more patient with those around us this week?
9.) Jesus had so much SELF-CONTROL. Matthew 4:1-11 talks about Jesus’ time in the desert. Immediately after Jesus was baptized the Holy Spirit led Him into the desert for 40 days. After 40 days of fasting the devil approached Him. The devil offered Jesus, bread and He refused, even though He hadn’t eaten in 40 days. The devil asked Jesus to test the Lord and He refused. Finally the devil offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and Jesus refused. That must have taken a great deal of self control. Where in our lives can we have a little more self control this week?
10.) Jesus was HUMBLE. Mark 1:41-44 “Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” As soon as He has spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” Jesus did not want credit for what He did. Jesus did not want to be revered and as stated earlier He did not come to be served, but to serve. In what ways can we be a little more humble this week?
I hope these 10 traits give you some ideas of how you can be a little more like Jesus. I know they have given me a lot to think about. One idea that just came to mind is to focus on one trait each week or each month. During that week or that month we could spend a little time getting to know more about that trait. Maybe look up what it means, other ways to grow in that trait or practice it? It might be a great time to focus on practicing that one trait as well because I don’t know about you, but if I have 10 traits to focus on and to try to practice, then I am most likely not going to practice any of them because I will feel overwhelmed. There are about 12 weeks left until Jesus’ birthday. What if you picked one trait a week for the next 10 weeks and focused on developing that trait. What a great birthday gift that would be for Jesus. What do you think? Do you want to give it a try with me? Remember, God is not looking for perfection. If you try and you don’t stick with it He will still be happy you tried. What have you got to lose?
Dear Heavenly Father, I pray that you bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, we are so thankful for all that you do for us. We share your vision of everyone looking upon Jesus and believing. Lord we want to have eternal life and we want that for others as well. Help us help you oh Lord. Teach us to be a reflection of Jesus here on Earth. Help us to become more like him. Put in our hearts a desire to pray for those that need prayers. Not just those we want to pray for, but those that need our prayers, those you want us to pray for. I know you love all your children and it breaks your heart to see any of them go astray. If we can help prevent that from happening Lord, just show us how. We love you Lord, you are amazing! We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen!