Finishing the Assignment

Finishing the Assignment
by Dudley Hall www.sclm.org

"I have glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in our own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed." John 17:4-5 (ESV)

Nothing makes life simpler or more satisfying than knowing exactly what you are assigned to do and getting it done. Jesus lived for ONE purpose. He only wanted to glorify the Father. But he did not confuse flattery with glory. He didn't just go around saying or singing nice things about the Father. He glorified him by doing what he was assigned. He goes on in the text to explain what that looked like.

He made the Father's name known to the ones for whom he was given responsibility. That means he made the nature and character of God the Father knowable to the disciples. Jesus made sure they knew that he was sent from the Father. He was not in competition with him. There is no pantheon of gods in reality. There is one God who is three persons and it takes a Son to reveal that. When the disciples "got it" they would recognize that they had the same relationship with the Father that Jesus has.

It is very interesting that Jesus had spent his time on earth primarily with these disciples. He had preached to many others and interacted with some, but his focus was the small group who watched him every day. He was content to have done this. In contrast, we seem unwilling to have such small success. We want our résumé to reflect our influence over thousands or millions. We touch many and transform few. He trained a few who would one day transform the world. Maybe we could learn.

Too many times we complicate our lives collecting symbols of success. Orphans do that because they are trying to fill the vacuum of affirmation from the Father. We never have enough to guarantee our security or significance, so we continue to seek more. We juggle our appointments and boast of our busy schedules while medicating our stress. What if we recognized those the Father has placed around us and concentrated on making the Father known to them? What if we found a way to use our specific gifts to glorify the Father and just did that? What if we had only ONE passion instead of trying to add God to our already full agendas? What if making the Father known to our circle of influence was more important than the amount of money we hold or what others thought of us?

If Jesus is our model, maybe we should try following him. He demonstrated that life on earth can be about glorifying the Father, without withdrawing from the world. He faced the same interpersonal conflicts that we do. He had the same needs for shelter and food that we do. He was able to navigate the journey on earth by trusting the Father explicitly. Now he has transferred that relationship to the next level of sons. We are sons of God and heirs according to his promise.