Probably Jesus

One of my favorite parts of staying with my daughter and her family is sitting in with them for bedtime stories.  During the month of December, they have a large book that has 25 ornaments hidden under tabs. They take turns lifting the tab, pulling out the ornament, showing it to everyone, discussing the picture, hanging it on the special tree, and then Rachel or Phil read the corresponding Bible story.   The Bible story ends with a question to point them back to Jesus and the gospel.

Our grandkids are three and four-years-old.  They know how to take turns, they just don’t always like to.  This particular night it was Sam’s turn but Jude thought it was her turn, so, it turned into an incident which ended in Jude stomping across the room to a chair away from her family where she threw herself in and pouted.  I went over and picked her up and put her on my lap in the chair. Phil continued with the story about Noah. He asked, “Who is our ark? Who is the greatest rescuer? No one answered for a while. Phil asked Jude if she knew.  While keeping her head slumped into her open palm she replied halfheartedly, “I don’t know … probably Jesus.”

Later that night I couldn’t help but think about what had happened and laugh.  “Probably Jesus.” So many times I know the answer to my problems but I have removed myself from God by my own self-pity or anger.  I find myself across the room slouched in a chair with my arms crossed, willfully choosing sin over allowing Jesus to minister grace and healing to my heart.  Sometimes, I just want to wallow in my selfishness instead of reaching out to Jesus, the great rescuer, to allow him to pull me out of the dangerous pit. Why do I do this?  I don’t want to continue to do this! I know, good and well, for any of life’s problems the answer is “probably Jesus.” Truthfully, when I die to myself, my bad attitude, my sarcastic words, the answer is not “probably Jesus”, the answer is absolutely Jesus!  He is truly the answer to every problem, question, hurt, worry and fear. Just Jesus!

“I do not understand what I do.  For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.  And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.  As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.  For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.  For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do — this I keep on doing.  Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.  For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am!  Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:15-25)

What’s the answer?  Probably Jesus … Jesus … absolutely Jesus!

Just Jesus,

Sheri