Skip to main content

ODB Message

"The Professor’s Confession"

by

Tim Gustafson

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. 

1 John 3:16

Horrified by his students’ poor writing habits, renowned author and college professor David Foster Wallace considered how he might improve their skills. That’s when a startling question confronted him. The professor had to ask himself why a student would listen to someone “as smug, narrow, self-righteous, [and] condescending” as he was. He knew he had a problem with pride.

That professor could and did change, but he could never become one of his students. Yet when Jesus came to Earth, He showed us what humility looks like by becoming one of us. Stepping across all kinds of boundaries, Jesus made Himself at home everywhere by serving, teaching, and doing the will of His Father.

Even as He was being crucified, Jesus prayed for forgiveness for His executioners (Luke 23:34). Straining for every anguished breath, He still granted eternal life to a criminal dying with Him (vv. 42–43).

Why would Jesus do that? Why would He serve people like us to the very end? The apostle John gets to the point. Out of love! He writes, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.” Then he drives that point home. “And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters” (1 John 3:16).

Jesus showed us that His love eradicates our pride, our smugness, our condescension. And He did it in the most powerful way possible. He gave His life.

Father, we are so prone to look down on each other. Please forgive us. Give us the heart of love Your Son showed to us.

Jesus loved us by serving.

#Copied

#September

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PRAYER FOR FORGIVENESS. We have ridiculed the absolute truth of God's word and called it 'pluralism'. We have worshipped other gods and said 'give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar'. We have endorsed pervertion and called it 'alternative life style'. We have exploited the poor and called it 'lottery'. We have rewarded laziness and called it 'welfare'. We have committed adultery and called it 'playing around'. We have committed fornication and called it 'having fun'. We have killed unborn children and called it 'choice'. We neglected to discipline our children and called it 'building self esteem'. We have abused power and called it 'politics'. We have converted our neighbour's property and called it 'ambition'. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it 'freedom of expression'. We have ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Theme

For us in TLF we are going to be focusing on Enterprise aka Labour aka Work for the entire month of June. We are urged to work. If you do not work how would you meet your daily needs? Like food, shelter, clothings and transportation? What about having what to give to others in need? There are so many reasons to work. I know many of us love to do what we love, we do not like to go to work if we do not like the job. But what if what you are doing as work and being paid for is actually what you love? What you love may not turn out to be a source of income, but we must still do what we can to earn. Are you enterprising? Please keep it up. Are you in paid labour in the private or public sector? Please do your work as unto the Lord God. Are you working all by yourself as a self employed worker? Please continue to grow and progress for greatness. Always know that in - Happy moments, praise God.  Difficult moments, seek God.  Quiet moments, worship God.  Painful moments, trust ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Story Time

  Lisungu Chieza from Zimbabwe was 26 when she was told in 1996 that she was HIV+. "This started my long journey of coping with being HIV+. My husband died in my arms at home eight months later." Not only did Lisungu have to cope with her own illness and losing her husband, but her husband's family also wrongly blamed her for his death. They came to her house, took away his things, and said, "If those children of yours get sick, don't even call us. We won't have anything to do with them or you." They would not even let her go to her husband's burial. "I gave up a college course I had planned to do. All I thought about was death. I neglected my children and myself." But her mother supported her. Lisungu began to find hope again and joined an HIV support group. Then she started to help others who were also HIV+, and took a college course about HIV-AIDS. She spoke at HIV meetings with the young people in her church. She believes that it is ver...
Post a Comment
Read more