Helping Us Stay The Course

Monday, March 28, 2011 Reading: John 16:1-4 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%2016&version=NIV Reflection: Jesus has given His disciples some disturbing news. If they thought that following Him would ensure an easy road without pain and suffering, they were mistaken. In fact, Jesus openly tells them at the end of chapter 15 that the world will actually hate them, just as it has hated him. In the same way, as the world persecuted Jesus, so too they will persecute His followers. Now, at the beginning of chapter 16, we find out why Jesus has chosen to give such troubling news to His disciples. It's not because Jesus is a skeptic with a negative view of people and the world...though Jesus' view is realistic. It's not simply to make the disciples help him carry this heavy burden of suffering for the greater good...though the disciples will, in the end, do just that. No, the reason Jesus made sure His disciples knew what was coming was so that they would not fall away. In other words, Jesus wanted to help His disciples to be successful in following Him. For that reason, Jesus shares truth...even hard truth...in order to prepare His disciples for the reality of their future. We could learn a lesson here. Sometimes when we have a hard truth for people...a truth we know they don't want to hear and may, in fact, anger them...we far too often choose not to say anything. We do this because we think we are being loving and gracious. The truth is, however, that we should be willing to share hard truth with each other. We are, to be sure, to be as gracious, kind and gentle when doing so. But if we really want to love one another, we will give them the hard truths of life that prepare them for the realities of the road ahead rather than being silent and watching them walk into a mess. So, let's be like Jesus. Let's be willing to be truthful with each other...even when the truth is hard to say and even hard to here. And let's do it not to trip each other up, but to help each other stay the course of a faithful disciple.