Fulfilling The Father's Will

"Today's Devotion" For March 21, 2005

Read: Matthew 5:17-20; Jeremiah 31:31-34

FULFILLING THE FATHER'S WILL

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." (Mt. 5:17)

Today is the first day of what the Christian Church observes as "Holy Week." During this week we're going to be observing Jesus' final days before His crucifixion and resurrection. Particularly important to our observance are the events of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Morning. This is a week where God's people spend time reflecting on the obedience of Christ in our place, all the way to the Cross. Following in Jesus' footsteps we're privileged to observe what it means to be obedient to the Father's Will. Our Lord Jesus Christ calls us to walk with Him to the Cross and the empty tomb; to realize that He has fully and complete fulfilled the "Law and the Prophets" in our place, for our redemption from Sin, Death, and the Devil. We are again privileged to watch the Son of God, God made human flesh, be the obedient Son of the Father which no one is able to be since the Fall into Sin in Eden. The Law, given to Moses on Mt. Sinai, and the testimony of the Prophets throughout Scripture point to the great love of our heavenly Father for every human being for whom Jesus died.

As we walk with Jesus to Golgotha and the Cross this week, we are reminded that His redemption of the world from Sin, Death, and the power of the Devil, was necessary because of our disobedience to the Father's Will. That Will had been continuously revealed through the "Law and the Prophets," and still revealed to us today in the same way. Through His Word, God sets the parameters that inform us to what is good and pleasing behavior in His sight. Through His Word, God lets us know what His Will is. We're not left in the dark to go searching for "meaning and purpose" in our lives, for God makes certain that through the power of His Word and Spirit we know that our lives have meaning and purpose only when we live in His grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness. We are called by the "Law and the Prophets" to turn to Him for mercy and forgiveness because through the "Law and the Prophets" we're made aware that we can't please God on our own. Yet, despite God's continual blessings and love for us, and His continual revelation of His Will for us, even His coming among us in the person of Jesus Christ, it seems that many people, even we ourselves, weren't and aren't paying much attention.

Into this mixed up mess, our Heavenly Father sent Jesus, the Christ, to clean it up. Because Jesus was perfectly obedient to the Father in even the most "obscure" points of God's Will and Law, He satisfied God's justice and righteousness for us, in our place. In Christ Jesus, as God's redeemed and restored children, we stand perfect and holy before God, as if we ourselves have been totally obedient to the Father's Will. As we walk with Jesus' down the "via dolorosa" ("the way of sorrow") again this Holy Week, we do so knowing that His obedience has become our obedience; His death, our death; His act of redemption our "ticket" to heaven. Jesus' ministry was spent setting an example of following the Law and the Prophets for us. Summed up, they read, "Love God above all things and your neighbor as yourself." Our Lord Jesus Christ reflected such obedience all the way to the Cross, and through faith in Him, inspired by His example we, too, strive to love God above all things and our neighbors as ourselves, and thus fulfill the Father's Will.

Prayer: Father, You sent Jesus to live a perfect life in my place because the condition of my Sinfulness prevents me from doing so myself. Because of Christ's obedience to even the most minute point of the Law, He accomplished my salvation. As a redeemed and restored child and heir of eternal life, help me to live in a manner that reflects the forgiveness You have given me in Jesus. Let my every moment of living be dedicated to serving You and others in Your name. Help me be an obedient "son of the Father" in my daily living, living out the "Law and the Prophets" as a faithful witness to Your love for the world in Christ my Lord and Savior; in whose precious name I pray. Amen.
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--Pastor Boeck

Copyright © 2005 Rev. Richard J. Boeck, Jr. All rights reserved.