By myself I can do nothing. (John 5:30)
If ever there was a life that could live independent of the Father in heaven it was the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. As the second person of the Trinity, Jesus had all the power of the Godhead contained within Him. But instead of using His power independent of the Father, Jesus made the decision of dependence – and this is the pattern we must choose for our lives too. Read on and be encouraged.
When we read the words, “By myself I can do nothing,” it might be easy to picture someone who is utterly helpless or even hopeless. But nothing could be further from the truth as it relates to the One who uttered these words in the gospel of John. The Omnipotent Son of the Most-High God made the decision to live not in the prerogative of His power, but rather, in the power of the Holy Spirit submitted to the will of His Father in heaven. Jesus made the decision of dependence. His message and His ministry were performed in utter dependence on the will of the Father. In the same sense that our Lord Jesus lived a life of dependence, we must do the same. We must keep these words of Jesus ever before us, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
By nature, we all want to live in our own strength and for our own glory. This is exactly what happened to Adam and Eve when they bought into the lie of Satan in the Garden of Eden. When they chose the way of independence, the result was the utter collapse of all of creation, as a consequence of their willful rebellion against God. They actually got what they sought – a life of independence apart from God and were booted out of the Garden to live east of Eden. Now their lives were marked by confusion and chaos; fear and frustration; disillusionment and death. Is this not the experience of all of us when we choose the way of independence?
So, how have you chosen to live lately? Have you chosen the way of independence or the way of dependence? To be a disciple of Jesus is to be dependent upon Jesus. And to be dependent upon Jesus is to live a life of both faithfulness and fruitfulness. When Jesus called the disciples with these words, “Follow me!” at the deepest level, He was calling them to follow His pattern of dependence upon the Father in heaven. We have received the same calling 2,000 years later. But remember, dependence is always a choice and that choice is always yours to make. What choice do you make today?
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 