Sign up for In All Things Jesus Manifested the Father
Jesus was "Emmanuel, God with us." He came to reveal God to men. He could tell His disciples that in seeing and hearing Him they had thereby seen and heard the Father. Had the Father Himself been as visible to them as Jesus was, they would have seen and heard exactly what had been before them in the Son. This was our Lord's special purpose in His day-by-day contacts with His disciples, and a very important part of His mission among all with whom He had to do. In like manner we are to reflect His life, the life of Christ, by word and act. Our very special task is that of manifesting the compassion, the generosity, tolerance, and pity, so perfectly displayed in Jesus our God-given Copy. With this in view, let us follow Him in our study, going with Him into homes, and standing beside Him in the midst of diversified circumstances as present with us now as such were in the days of His contacts with all sorts and conditions of men.
With Jesus In Home Circles
Before we enter any of these homes in our study, or in our actual experiences, let us take time to consider the Master's command in this matter. We remember how, when sending His disciples out on missions before Him, this was the word given to them, "Into whatsoever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it" (Luke 10:5, 6). This means that wherever the Lord's representatives go, peace should go, not strife, confusion, turmoil, or quarreling. All who have received the Truth should receive also its spirit speaking peace through Jesus Christ." This should be true in all the ways by which we may enter the homes or circles about us.
Some are more privileged than others in the matter of entering homes over a wide territory, and by personal contact influencing others. But we may enter homes by "a letter” speeded on its way to brethren far or near, inner circles may also be entered by “a publication” we recommend. In such ways we do touch other lives, influencing them for good or ill according to the tenor of our conversation, correspondence, and recommended literature. This represents a real responsibility, making it important that we are careful that our influence be ever in the direction of purity in word and deed. A very timely suggestion has been given by someone in the following lines:
"He wiped his feet before his door,
But before he entered he did more;
'Twas not enough to cleanse his feet
Of dirt they'd gathered in the street
He stood and dusted off his mind,
And left all trace of care behind.
'In there I will not take' said he,
'The stains the day has brought to me.'
He dusted off the stains of strife,
The mud that's incident to life,
The blemishes of careless thought,
The traces of the fight he'd fought,
The selfish humors and the mean
And when he entered he was, clean."
If this suggestion is followed always, it will surely mean entering homes in the way Jesus instructed His disciples to do; and thus we will be messengers of peace, helping others in ways sure to bring to them and to ourselves the manifest blessing of the Lord.
As in our mind we begin our walk from home to home with Jesus, where shall we call first? Let it be the home of Matthew the publican. He was among the first of the Twelve to be called into that band of specially chosen followers. We call here for the sake of lessons to be learned in this particular spot; lessons needful to all in order that the largeness of vision and of sympathy may be thoroughly learned at the outset. If we miss this lesson what can save us from becoming exclusive-minded like the priest and Levite passing by needs which Jesus could not pass unheeded?
In the home of this publican, Jesus is in the midst of a gathering made up of similar characters. Because of His association with these He was called in derision, “a friend of publicans and sinners.” But what truth there was in that classification! A precious truth indeed! Of Himself He said, "I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Matt. 9:13). On another occasion He enlarged on this in saying, "I say unto you, 3 there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over a sinner that repents" (Luke 15:10). Thinking of Jesus' own ministry in this feature of His mission, what joy the angels in heaven must have had over the repentance and transformation taking place.
Mary Magdalene, and others lifted up from sin's pollution and into a devotion to Jesus by which a fragrance has been carried down through all the centuries wherever the Gospel story has gone. Leading sinners to repentance was a very marked feature of our Lord's mission. Has it been likewise with us? Have we missed the steps in this part of the perfect copy? Should we not ask ourselves if in our suffering with Christ we have really shared His disrepute because of our befriending publicans and sinners, no less numerous than in the days of Jesus, and no less ready to respond to manifestations of His spirit. Had Jesus confined His attention solely to gathering out such, characters as John and Peter, Mary of Bethany, Nathaniel and James, how different the copy would have been. Had He done so, publicans like those He befriended, sinners like the one who came into Simon's home to weep over His feet would never have known how truly His grace abounded where sin in them had abounded.
"Doing good unto all men" was no mere incident in the ministry of Jesus. It was the working out of the message given Him in the prophetic forecast of Isaiah. Surely this compassionate ministry was much in the Father's heart when His voice came, from heaven saying, "This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." Has He been pleased with us for this same reason?
The Art of Adjusting Divergent Viewpoints
The Bethany home of Martha and Mary is another of the homes frequented by Jesus. Much could be read into the statement of John regarding this home when he says, "Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus" -- three distinctly different characters reacting in three different ways to the love of Jesus for them, but all three sharing in His love. Martha must have possessed admirable qualities in order to have this place in the love of Jesus, nevertheless, He was not blind to her failings. Her heart was right, occupied with the laudable desire to serve Jesus in her particular way, but when this led her to rebuke both Jesus and Mary, the task He undertook was that of helping Martha to see the comparative littleness of her service in contrast to the better things uppermost in Mary's mind. We may be sure the word spoken to Martha was not uttered in any harsh manner, but lovingly expressed. His desire would be to have this loving one see that by putting the emphasis where Mary was placing it, then she too, "May sit at Jesus' feet, nor leave her service incomplete." Can we not believe that when this visit was over and Jesus had gone on His way, Martha was a happier woman, feeling nearer to a correct understanding of Jesus, and seeing with clearer eyes the right of Mary to choose her own way of showing devotion to their beloved Guest and Master? Jesus would leave a fragrant incense of peace in this home through His method of meeting diversities in the viewpoints and temperaments of two whom He loved, and so may we do likewise if we will but follow the pattern He has given us.
J.J. Blackburn
© CDMI
