Scripture:

John 17:1-5

When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

Prayer:

Father you have created all things, sustain all things, and accomplished all things to bring your people to wholeness.  Through Jesus you have removed the curse and our need for endless striving.  Your call to righteousness is found in Christ’s righteousness.  Your way is narrow because Jesus is the only one who could tread those steps.  We fall short.  Have mercy on us in your Son and His completed work.  Amen

Meditation:

It is amazing what things reveal our brokenness.  I recently became the proud owner of a Fitbit.  Maybe a better way of saying that is I have recently been attached to a Fitbit and it seems to have taken over my life.  In an effort to live a healthier life, I found a model that was significantly discounted and it seemed like a step in the right direction.  What this thing on my wrist has revealed about my heart! Fitbits give you goals, remind you that they are your goals that you set for yourself, in order to gain health.  Hours of sleep, calorie intake, water intake, and numbers of steps are the primary measures to health. When you reach a goal your Fitbit will light up and vibrate, giving you positive affirmation.  You can track your other metrics by adding to your totals. Each time you do so you see how far off or close you are to accomplishing the goal.  It’s not perfect.  I hit 10,000 steps on Sunday and I never left the pulpit.  I have a lot of hand motions and gestures.

What I have noticed is the amount of shame I feel when I don’t hit a goal.  Fitbit told me this morning that I only sleep 6 hours when my goal is 7.  Shame.  I see how far off from my water goal I am and chug a litre before bed so I can hit the goal.  Don’t want to disappoint this plastic bracelet I am wearing. Of course then I am awake a few times during the night to take care of that bedtime litre and I don’t sleep my 7 hours.  I imagine that after a few weeks of this and missing some goals my temptation will be to change them so they are more attainable.

Sound familiar to your walk with God?  We want to set and reset the goals.  We feel shame when we don’t think we accomplished what we were supposed to.  We push in our own effort to change.  

God is merciful and the work is accomplished.  No shame, no shifting of goals, no extra effort. God, through Christ, makes me right with Him, myself, others and place.  

Action:

Often our motivations or the false way we receive rightness is revealed in small things.  Think about what your first reaction is when you hand a child a glass of milk and they spill it.  First reaction and be as honest as you can be with yourself.

If you think, “I must have handed that to them weirdly to cause the spill.”  you probably get your rightness from the approval of others.

If you think, “How could they have possibly spilled that?  I gave it to them perfectly.  No one should spill milk I give them. They need to clean that up right away!” you probably get your rightness from having power over others and situations.

If you think, “How did that happen?  If they can’t grab a glass correctly they will never be able to clean it up correctly.  I have to do it.”  you probably get your rightness from having control.

There are many other reactions you can think of but if you dig down they can show you your heart.  Let me know of the others you may think of and what they reveal by emailing them to me.  I would appreciate it.