Our Advocate and Mediator…

Oddly, some people close to our granddaughter and involved in the legal profession have told her she needs an advocate to stand up for her and make sure she gets all that is her right to have. I understand their concern, yet also know that our prayers for her are received by a Mediator who stands for her far above any power or negative force in the universe. Our God is not only sovereign over the medical systems and government agencies here, He also rules the healing of her bones and the well-being of her attitude. To see her with casts or braces on all four limbs, unable to get out of bed, bruised and bleeding, and given morphine and other painkillers every few hours, yet joyful and laughing brings only one response: Only God!

This echos a tiny bit of what Jesus experienced in Gethsemane: 

And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.” (Luke 22:43–46)

The disciples didn’t realize the fullness of His angst, nor do I. But He had already yielded to His fate by saying, “Thy will be done” after asking if there was another way. Is that not the big key to comfort in great trials? They stop hurting me if I refuse to fight with them or with the God who allows them. I’m not aware of what is going on in her heart, but this grandchild of ours has peace on her face and acceptance in her words. I can almost see those strengthening angels who are ministering to her.

As for the attitudes, only Jesus can deal with the finger-pointing and anger that we so easily feel when life hands us a painful trial. He said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do…” even as they cast lots to divide his garments. (Luke 23:34)

This passage, plus some of what I see in her attitude, gives an example of what it means to have a mediator. No thoughts of punishment or retaliation or suing the medical people who messed up in their attempts to fix things. I looked it up. A mediator stands between two parties to reconcile their differences or to establish a relationship between them. In our world, this covers a broad array of roles. However, in the Bible, it is about relationships between deity and humanity. Scripture says mediation presupposes that we have been alienated from God by sin but that He desires to bridge the gulf separating us and restore harmonious relations (Isaiah 59:1–2). This is why Jesus came:

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus... (1 Timothy 2:5)

But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. (Hebrews 8:6)

Mediation can be directed towards God, as in intercessory prayer, or towards humans, but Scripture primarily represents it as God’s initiative in reaching down to us through revelation and redemption. He sent His sinless Son — qualified because he is both fully human and fully divine — to fill three mediatorial offices of prophet, priest, and king. By his atoning death, in which he became both high priest and sacrifice, Jesus once and for all opened the way into God’s presence and now rules in believers’ hearts and is also seated at the Father’s right hand where He intercedes for us, as does the Holy Spirit. This is mainly about sin and forgiveness, but also covers all our needs.

PRAY: Every time a prayer is answered, I know that it was prayed in harmony with Your will and Your role to mediate our human needs, both for forgiveness and to supply those things we request that fit with Your will. If my prayer goes up with any kinks in it, it reaches the Father’s ears properly — for You are my Advocate, the One who makes sure I receive what the Father wants for me. My thoughts are hard to put into words. Given the events over the past little while, Your love and goodness is exceedingly overwhelming again, so I thank You, again and again. 

Love endures with discernment

 

Last night we watched a television episode where one of the characters wanted to be helpful. She was in a dangerous situation but without experience or training she did not realize the danger or her vulnerability. She just wanted to help and nearly died because of her ignorance. The word ‘childlike’ comes to mind. Even though this was fiction and acting, I gripped my seat and hoped she would not be harmed.

Today’s devotional is about love enduring when in incredible opposition. The character in the TV show was in that situation, but her endurance was ambition, not love. She was not concerned for the well-being of those who threatened her as well as being oblivious to the danger. Her situation was the opposite of what the NT describes as love:

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:7)

The example given is Stephen who preached the Gospel but was hated for it. His enemies stoned him to death and as he fell, he cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” (Acts 7:60).

Without love, most people would never forgive or ask God to forgive, but Stephen followed the example of Jesus who prayed while dying on the cross, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Jesus had good reason to endure and I am to do the same . . .

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. (Hebrews 12:1–4)

For me, loving others is often a sacrifice of time, energy, or resources. It involves believing the best about others and trusting God to work out any complicating issues. For instance, someone is demanding my attention to meet her needs the way she wants them met. I’m relying on Jesus to help me sort that out. Is it love to do what she wants done? Or are those demands confusing the instructions from the Holy Spirit as to how God wants me to respond? I do realize that I must love her and not do wrong toward her:

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. (Romans 13:8–10)

I also know that love comes from the Holy Spirit. Romans 5:5 and Galatians 5:22 make that clear. It is also normal Christian behavior:

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:7–10)

This love is to be “earnest and from a pure heart” and a love that puts a ‘roof over’ the sin of others. (1 Peter 1:22; 4:8) It is part of how I demonstrate my love for God.

At the same time, the people of His day wanted Jesus to show the love of God to them by setting them free from Roman rule. Instead, He set them free from sin, getting to the bottom line of their need and not going along with them telling Him how to love them. This clarifies my confusion. I must listen to what the Lord is telling me concerning the greatest need of others. It may be what I’m being asked to do, but because the request seems very selfish, God very likely has another plan.

PRAY: Jesus, I asked for clarification on this puzzle and You have shown me that love is not blind or ignorant or based on what I think or what needy people think. You gave me this verse days ago that says my “love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment” (Philippians 1:9), so my prayer is for greater understanding of what is going on with this person so I know what You are wanting me to do that is the best way to express Your love for her.

PONDER: Pay attention to the Holy Spirit and to the above Scripture as well as to what people say about their needs. Make sure no selfishness is involved, especially in me.