RECOGNIZING OUR NEED
Matthew 9:11-13
Vv. 10-11: “While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and ‘sinners’ came and ate with Him and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this they asked His disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”
“Hey Shak, I hear that you won the award for turning in a silver dollar.” 5th-grader Cassie beamed as she threw her arms around her 3rd-grade cousin on the school playground. “I am so proud of you!” (See No Secret Sins devotion).
Shakira patted her classmate Jennifer’s shoulder. “It was Jenn’s idea to put it in the Lost and Found. It was so pretty, and I was going to keep it.”
“A good friend keeps us out of trouble when we’re tempted to do the wrong thing, Shak” Cassie said.
Cassie’s right. What does a “good Christian” look like? Perfect Christians don’t exist—but so many pretend that they are perfect, and live perfect lives. How many of us admit to flaws or weaknesses? Do we really think we’re perfect? We need to recognize that our guaranteed salvation does not guarantee that we’ll never sin (Ephesians 4:30).
In fact, aspiring to perfection is actually a trap of pride that pulls us away from righteous living. Self sufficiency (suf-FISH-en-see means total ability) is pride that argues for never needing another’s help. Those who fully rely on their own abilities forget Whose they are. Believers belong to God, and learn to admit needing Jesus. Jesus doesn’t care about how cool or able His kids are. He came to heal the spiritually sick, so that they recognize their weakness and become aware of their human lack.
See how that works? Those who think they’re “all that” is who Jesus came to show that they need Him to be “all that.” The world views success as power. But Jesus wants all to understand their brokenness, and realize how much we need His power to achieve every goal.
While those who have trusted in Jesus have confidence that God forgives all repented sin—and are headed for heaven one day—the battle with sin follows people until they arrive in heaven. This supports believers’ need for surrendering lives to Jesus daily. When we recognize our neediness, we hunger after Jesus. He is faithful to fill every need. Smart believers depend on and trust in Him in every situation.
Take Home Nugget
“So when are you going to cash in your award for free ice cream?” Cassie asked.
“You mean for our free ice cream?” Jennifer countered, nudging Shakira, who laughed out loud.
J.D. Griffith
God knows all you’ve thought or done—
From Him you cannot hide;
Confess to Him and He’ll forgive
Through Christ the crucified.
Hess
A personal, private lesson experience with our staff
Written for http://www.biblestudyforkids.com/
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment