When I reflect upon the life of Jesus one thing stands out that captures my attention – He only said what the Father told him to say (John 12:49) – He only did what the Father told him to do (John 14:31) – which also means that He only went where the Father told him to go. So often we think that Jesus had an advantage when it came to obedience to the Father but the truth is that Jesus stands as our exemplar of faith. If Jesus had any advantage he could not offer us hope or a true example of how to live the Christian life in a way that pleased God. Jesus relied on his Father for everything in life.

We could say that Jesus relied on the Father for everything in life including life itself. The only advantage that one could say that Jesus had was that he was sinless and in being sinless he had a direct connection to the Father to receive life for his spirit from Him — just as we were designed for before sin entered into the world. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve enjoyed life from God that fed their spirits and gave them their identity. They were loved. They were accepted. They were worthy. They were valued. They belonged. But when sin entered into the situation through them pursuing the knowledge of Good and Evil apart from God, that spirit-life connection was severed. The effect was immediate. Suddenly they were ashamed to be naked in front of each other. Suddenly they felt the need to hide from God, the very one who created them and gave them life.

Jesus, born without sin, was able to experience the original connection with God His Father. He was truly loved, knew he had worth, was valued, was accepted and was fully loved. His identity was anchored in His Father. This is why the Devil tempted him in the wilderness questioning both his true identity as the Son of God and the validity of his worth with the Father and the trustworthiness of the Father Himself. Satan wanted to destroy Jesus’s identity like he did with Adam and Eve.

But here is the Good News – when Jesus went to the cross and rose from the grave he provided a way for the spiritual life like between us and God to be re-established. Now, through Jesus and his payment for our sin, we are able to be restored back to God and experience what it means to be given true spiritual life. Before Jesus, our identity was formed in our experiences in life and our abilities. They became the markers through which we believed whether or not we were successful or a failure. We had to put all our effort into our performance to achieve and win the “right” to be acceptable to others and accepted by God. But now, we no longer need to invest in that fruitless expenditure of energy. In Christ, we are fully cleansed, accepted and made new.

This means the “advantage” that Jesus had in hearing and obeying the Father is now ours as well. We are free to hear the Father and do what He tells us to do – say what He tells us to say – and go where He tells us to go. We are free to live a life of faith in God without fear of disappointing Him. Why? Because the Spirit of Jesus lives in us and through us. Are we able to trust God in His Word that this Good News is true? If so, it takes the burden off of obedience and transforms it into an adventure of power to the glory of God.

This post is more of a journal reflection as I ponder our future as we transition from our current church to one in another country. There are so many details and it would be easy to become strained and anxious as to timing and all that needs to be done…but if we are obeying as Jesus did, the Father will look after all of the details and provide for all our needs. Thank you, Jesus, for not only being our exemplar but now being the life IN us!

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” — Galatians 2:20 NIV