Bethel Adekogbe

Relationship
Mary, Jesus’ mother, was standing next to his cross, along with Mary’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. So when Jesus looked down and saw the disciple he loved standing with her, he said, “Mother, look—John will be a son to you.” Then he said, “John, look—she will be a mother to you!” From that day on, John accepted Mary into his home as one of his own family.
John 19:25-27 (TPT)

Something central to the Old Testament is the concept of “God’s Chosen People.” After Yahweh gave Moses and the Israelites the 10 Commandments, He called them his treasured possession (Deuteronomy 7:6-9) and told the people that He loved them despite their shortcomings. When we think of the unconditional love of Christ it may be hard to understand without also recognizing that He has chosen us as His family (John 1:12). Because we are joint heirs (Romans 8:17), we have access to a relationship with the Father that connects us all as brother and sister in Christ.

Jesus connects John and Mary and they proceed to live as if they were a true family and what connects them is the love for Jesus. What if we zoom out this image and apply it to ourselves? How would I treat my awful neighbor if I believed that Jesus specifically asked me to treat them as my mother? How would you treat someone you hate if Jesus asked you to love them like your son or brother? Relationship in Christ Jesus is seeing everyone as a member of His (and your) family.

Prayer: Yahweh, fill me with your Spirit so I can have the courage to see everyone I encounter as my family.

Distress
Jesus knew that his mission was accomplished, and to fulfill the Scripture, Jesus said: “I am thirsty.”
John 19:28 (TPT)

When things get busy for me and I’m unable to see how I’m going to manage all my responsibilities, I often become overwhelmed and anxiety takes over. I often find myself lying when people ask me how I’m doing. It’s easier to tell a friend that I’m fine than it is to become vulnerable about my stress and pain. It’s incredibly tempting to bottle it all up to maintain pretenses. However, when we look at Jesus at this moment, He is quite literally experiencing the most painful day of His life and despite that, He expresses His true pain. He spoke the truth of His feelings and didn’t hide His distress from us. It makes one wonder if this is the “truth” that He asks us to worship within when He says to worship in Spirit and truth in John 4:24.

God knows how we feel so why hide it? Especially when He can empathize with our weaknesses because He was also tempted to hide His distress (Hebrews 4:15). Comfort for our distress is on the other side of our confession. If we approach God’s throne with everything that we have He will give us grace and mercy in our time of need (Hebrew 4:16)

Prayer: Lord, help me not to hide my distress but to bring it directly to you Lord Jesus. Help me consistently remember that you understand and have the space to comfort me.