Questions about Ourselves
by Malcolm Wood
I have often been struck by the significance of what Jesus was doing when he, as the Holy Son of God, knelt and washed the dusty feet of his disciples. This is a wonderful demonstration of his humility as referred to in John 13:1-5 and perhaps gives us an insight as to one of the reasons why his ministry was so successful – As a servant.
I believe there are some basic questions about himself with which Jesus had no problem, but which sometimes we struggle with about ourselves.
Identity -Jesus knew who he was. He said 'I and the Father are one' John 10:30
Origin- Jesus knew where he had come from. He said 'I came from the Father' John 16:28
Destiny- Jesus knew why he had come. He said 'You say that I am a king and you are right, I was born for that purpose and I came to bring truth to the world' John 18:37. On another occasion he said 'I have come here from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to have my own way' John 6:38.
Destination- Jesus knew where he was going. He said 'I will leave the world and return to my father' John 16:28. Also 'There are many homes up there where my Father lives and I am going to prepare them for your coming' John 14:2
Having the assurance of truthful answers about himself he was able to pursue his ministry with God given confidence as he had no image to maintain, no position to preserve, and no status or title to live up to. He was who he was the Son of God as man on earth and lived as such.
For us though it is often a journey of self discovery. As we continue our walk with Jesus and get to know him better and the more we experience that special relationship with him the more we discover about ourselves. When we allow Jesus to help us deal with those areas of lives which humanly may cause us pain, our identity, our origins, our questions about why we are here and where we are going we begin to receive his healing and comfort.
We also begin to see things from a heavenly perspective and receive encouragement from the truth that now our true identity is as a child of the King, our origin is as a sinner saved by grace, our destiny is to serve and honour him and our destination is a home in heaven.
In the incident that we have been referring to above, Jesus gives a wonderful example of humility which he encourages his disciples to emulate (John13:15). May we become so sure of ourselves and our relationship with him that we are able to demonstrate his humility in our service for him.
Prayer: Thank you Lord for humbling yourself to come from heaven to die for me on Calvary. Please help me to really know who I am in you and by the power of your Spirit to be humble in all my ways. Amen.
Malcolm Wood and his wife Anna became part of the Ellel family as House Managers at Ellel Grange in 1990. Since then they have been involved with many aspects of the developing Ministry. From 2001 until 2015 they were Directors of Ellel Scotland where they hosted several International Schools and Operation Blairmore and helped pioneer the exciting Creative Inspiration Weeks. They have three sons.
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