Oh, What A Beauty-Full Savior

I held onto the remote control last night, for several reasons. At first it was because we were watching a movie in which all the actors spoke with British accents, so at times some of their lines were difficult to understand. To assist me to recapture what I couldn’t understand the first time I would hit rewind. I occasionally turned up the sound thinking that by increasing the volume I would somehow distinguish better what was said. As the movie progressed though I found that my comprehension improved greatly. As long as I just kept on listening I adapted to the sound of their voices. As they became more familiar to me, I was able to easily follow.

Later in the movie I used the volume control again for different reasons. There were scenes of high tension throughout the film that were accentuated with intensifying music. At times I am not so keen on ‘surround sound’ for this reason, because of the physical sensations that are prompted by the reverberations within the speakers. So whenever this occurred I would attempt to lessen my own mounting tension by turning the sound down.

There were also actual noises within the movie itself that were offensive. Not profanities, but sounds of war. Cannons blasting. Bombs exploding. The wounded shrieking. I wanted to turn those down too. In fact there were occasions when I would have liked to fast-forward right on through them, avoiding the harsh realities depicted on the screen. But I did not, because they were part of the whole story.

Without giving the title or the story line of the movie, so as not to ruin it for those who haven’t yet viewed it, I do however want to make some reference to it. There is a vital scene that shows the new owner of an animal spending time and attention training the animal he loved to hear, know, and respond obediently to his voice. It took a little while but eventually the animal ‘got it’. He knew the words or sound, interpreted the meaning and it prompted a desired response.

Sort of like the first minutes of my watching the film got me accustomed to the characters’ foreign-sounding voices until I ‘got it’. That’s exactly how God wants to train us to hear, know and respond to His voice. He wants us to be attentive to His Words, so we can recognize His voice, so we can readily and gladly do the things He asks of us. In the same way that I am glad I didn’t quickly give up on watching the rest of the film, I’m sure that God is glad when we don’t tune Him out just because we’re not sure right away what He is trying to say to us, teach us or prompt us to do.

John 10:27
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

Although I held a remote control in my hand that could have diminished, avoided or totally shut off the film, I did not, because there was something in me that desired a detailed closure on what I had begun. The difficult parts could not be evaded, controlled or minimized because they held the primary essence of the completed tale.

This week my mind and my eyes have frequently been drawn to the various Gospel renditions of Jesus’ last week before His glorious Resurrection. It occurred to me that Jesus’ primary role in the greatest story of all time certainly had numerous opportunities for Him to want to hold the omnipotent remote control. But He never once looked to minimize the mounting state of high tension He was continually enduring and facing.

Luke 22:44
And being in anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

Jesus, in His matchless love for His Father and for us, had an urgent determination to complete, to bring to closure, His eternal purpose. His passion was to listen to and obey the Father, to forgive the undeserved violence against Him, and to pour mercy and grace out on the very ones who would betray, deny and execute Him just as He predicted.

Matthew 26:39
Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

Matthew 26:42
He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”

He did not shirk the harsh realities of suffering that He experienced exclusively for us. Just when he could have resorted to the ease that He so deserved, He willingly handed all the control to the God who never again wanted to be remote from you or me or all the world.

Jesus listened, knew, and followed the Father’s will for His life. Jesus ‘got it’.

Oh, what a Beauty-Full Savior!

Gratefully HIS,

Jan