Trust is Hard

Have you ever struggled with the issue of giving Jesus total control over your life? I certainly have. It goes against all our natural inclinations and desires to hand over control to another person. Especially someone we can’t see!

Why would you want to lose control? Why would you become totally vulnerable to another person? Supposing they took advantage of you and used what you have given of yourself for their own benefit? Suppose you lived to deeply regret the fact that you entrusted yourself to someone else?

I’m sure these feelings are at least partly God-given and right. Jesus did not entrust Himself to certain people. Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men (John 2: 24). Trust has to be earned. Forgiveness may be given whether it’s earned or not – and usually it isn’t - but trust is something quite different. You have to deserve to be trusted. It can’t be demanded or required. A person must earn trust.

So what about trusting Jesus? Has He earned our trust or not? Today’s verse tells us all about Jesus. Even when He had something wonderful (equality with God) He didn’t mind losing it for the sake of helping us. He never grasped or tried to gain anything for Himself. Even things He was fully entitled to, like equality with God.

Far from insisting on His own rights or benefits, He actually let go of every good thing He had, quite freely and from His own choice. He became less and less. He became a servant, and then a condemned criminal suffering torture on a cross. He didn’t take advantage of His privileged position, but gave everything up, in order to rescue you and me.

He’s not suddenly going to start being selfish and demanding now, is He? Instead, won’t He love and bless you (and me) more and more, as we give him more and more of ourselves?