As Jesus walked the earth, his world was all wrapped up in his Father. Jesus received pleasure and nourishment from his Father, not man. “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” When we see the way Jesus served, loved, taught, warned, healed, and sacrificed we see a picture of the Heavenly Father who was (and still is) misrepresented by so many. “I can do only what I see my Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” Men would argue with Jesus and try to trap him or make him look bad, but Jesus would say, “This just proves that you really don’t know my Father.”
The secret for Jesus’ constant focus was this powerful truth: “The Father is in me, and I am in the Father. It is the Father living in me who is doing his work.” Who is man compared to God? Jesus remembered men were confused and separated from God. He knew he was sent to make things right, to bring man back to God. So when people opposed him, Jesus was not deterred. When one of his best friends, out of genuine concern, tried to tell him he should not be killed, Jesus rebuked him. “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” Neither did flattery impact Jesus. “I do not accept praise from man.” Once people wanted to make Jesus king, but it was the wrong type of king… so Jesus simply left them.
Jesus’ world depended totally on his Father. “I cannot do anything by myself.” “I do nothing on my own.” “I do exactly what my Father says.” “My teaching is not my own, it comes from him who sent me.” Love, trust, purpose, fruit… everything was tied to the Father in Heaven.
We may say, “Well, of course, that was Jesus… He is God.” But was not Jesus human? Did he not face all the temptations we face? Did he not have the same demands on time and energy? Did he not have to empty himself before he could live the way he lived? None of us are to that place of surrender, humility, and obedience that we would claim to be walking on earth exactly as Jesus did, but we also know God desires to mold us into the image of the Son. Jesus tells us the path: “Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.” (Jn 6:57) As Jesus’ world was all wrapped up in his Father, so our world must be all wrapped up in Jesus. This is foolishness to people who don’t know Christ, but that simply means things have not changed. Jesus was called a fool… and worse. He predicted the same criticism for his followers. But since Jesus’ satisfaction rested not in man’s opinion, he was not overcome with worry or fear or poor self-esteem.
Our secret for success should be this powerful truth from our Savior: “I am in you and you are in me.” Maybe we could remember this… one day at a time.
“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” (Mark 1:35)