One solitary life

Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. John 5: 19

I was thinking today that the man who accomplished most in his short life was the one who recognised he could do nothing by himself but only what he saw the Father doing. So often we seek to accomplish all we can by our own efforts, yet no one has achieved what Jesus did and all he sought to do was the Father’s will.

What a great example for us to follow. So many Christians today are seeking to do their own thing, make their own plans, achieve their own goals and there is no doubt they will be successful – but will it be treasure in heaven?  Will it withstand the fire that Paul talks about in I Corinthians 3: 12 – 15?

If we want to achieve the potential that God has in store for us, then we too must concentrate on not doing our own thing, no matter how noble and worthwhile it may seem but follow Jesus’ example and do only what we see the Father doing.

One solitary life

He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant. He grew up in another village, where he worked in a carpenter shop until he was 30. Then, for three years, he was an itinerant preacher.
He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a home. He didn't go to college. He never lived in a big city. He never traveled 200 miles from the place where he was born. He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but himself.
He was only 33 when the tide of public opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied him. He was turned over to his enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While he was dying, his executioners gambled for his garments, the only property he had on earth. When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed grave, through the pity of a friend.
Twenty centuries have come and gone, and today he is the central figure of the human race. I am well within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned--put together--have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that one, solitary life

Dr James Allan © 1926.