Episode Transcript
CONSECRATE
Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Jesus, I belong to you.
I lift up my heart to you.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice.
Jesus, we belong to you.
Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
HEAR
Matthew 11:25–30 ESV
At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
CONSIDER
What is God like? Part of our fallenness as human beings is we all have a broken and distorted image of who God is and what God is like. The story of the Bible is the story of a God who pursues us to reveal and convince us of his love for us. Still, for many reasons, we misunderstand the nature and character of God.
Before Jesus, we knew God was a Sovereign King. Before Jesus, we knew God was was a Righteous Judge. It wasn't until Jesus, the Son of God, that we knew God primarily and personally as a Good Father. I have always loved the way Eugene Peterson translated verse 27 today's text from Matthew's Gospel.
Jesus resumed talking to the people, but now tenderly. “The Father has given me all these things to do and say. This is a unique Father-Son operation, coming out of Father and Son intimacies and knowledge. No one knows the Son the way the Father does, nor the Father the way the Son does. But I’m not keeping it to myself; I’m ready to go over it line by line with anyone willing to listen."
This is a beautiful and brilliant description of what the Gospels are all about—Jesus going over the goodness and glory of God line by line with us.
Today I have a special treat for us on the Wake-Up Call. A few weeks back I met up with my old friend Chris Tomlin in a small church on the outskirts of Franklin, Tennessee, and he was gracious to play and sing some of his songs and talk through them with me on camera. If you are a "read only" participant on the Wake-Up Call, you will need to listen or watch to access this special Wake-Up Call edition. I am sorry for any way this inconveniences or disappoints you. It's actually kind of a dream for me to be able to share this with you. We will be sharing an intermittent series of these episodes here as we progress through the Gospels.
PRAY
Jesus, thank you for revealing to us our good, good Father. And thank you for being such a good, good Son. And thank you for going over it all with us, line by line. Heal our broken image of God and deepen our sense of being loved by the one who is perfect in all of his ways. Praying in your name, amen.
