Collision of Wills

S

Isaiah 65:2,5) I spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people, who ... say, "Keep to Yourself, do not come near me, for I am too holy for You ..."

O

How could anyone in my human family speak such things to God? But we did--and we still do. So Jesus demonstrated these words in shocking, juxtapositioned reality. He said (John 3:14): "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up." On the cross, with His arms extended to everyone and His affection open and vulnerable, we nailed His hands, impaled His heart, and railed against His holy words.

A

I could not ban God from me any more than I could command Mt. Hood to erupt with rivers of hot fudge, but He does permit me to reject His outstretched, helping, healing hands. Whenever I exercise veto power over His call and wise commands, I'm part of the mob that crucified Him (Hebrews 6:16). Whenever I worship Him without pretension, His mighty embrace resettles me in Heavenly places (Ephesians 2:1-7).

P

Lord, forgive me, please, of treasuring my will above Your will. Forgive me for excluding those people who seem less holy than I. Help me instead to offer them my loving embrace and to gently confront them as need be--like You've patiently done with me.

A Rare Friendship

S
(1 Samuel 18:3,4) Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt.

O
Jonathan, a prince and overtly superior, initiated this deep friendship. He entered into a covenant friendship before God (20:8) that consisted entirely of giving, not gaining. The stripped robe resented transferred authority: David could speak into Jonathan’s life and David represented now Jonathan to the world. The stripped armor represented giving David unguarded access—vulnerability—to all points of Jonathan’s life. The stripped weapons represented Jonathan surrendering his ability to attack or harm David while choosing to be defenseless against David.

A
How rare it is to have such a friend. Even worse, it’s rare to be such a friend. To what extent is my marriage like this? To whom—to what Samaritan in my life—should I covenant such a friendship?

P
Lord, I think receiving this friendship empowered David to go out and be successful wherever Saul sent him (verse 5). You call me to become such a friend to You and to others (Matthew 22:39), but You first demonstrated Your friendship to me (John 15:11-16; see also Proverbs 17:17; 18:24; 19:6; 26:6,9,10,17).