Devotion - Monday, August 22

One of the speakers you will have the opportunity to hear this spring has written books on the topic "When Jesus became God."  His research looks at the life of Jesus and the witness of the early, early Church.  He asks whether Jesus was born into the role of Messiah or if this was assigned to him after his death.

This morning I was reading John 5:19-29.  This is one of the sections of the gospels which seems to reveal the aforementioned discussions.  In these verses, Jesus says "the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he see the Father doing."

Jesus draws his thoughts and his actions from the One to whom he looks.  Jesus follows in the way of God.

We typically don't like imitations.  But this is precisely the claim Jesus is making for himself.  He is an imitator of God.  Does he imitate because he and the Father are one?  Or does his imitation cause him to look so much like the Father that others begin to consider them one?  Great academic questions.  And topics on which we should reflect and discuss openly.

The devotional take away might be this:  Imitating God made it possible for Jesus to bring good news to the poor, imitating God meant that Jesus cast out demons and lifted heavy burdens.  What might we be able to accomplish, when we set our hearts and minds and hands on the task of imitating?  What might be possible, if we strive to perfect ourselves as imitators?