“This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day.” (John 6:40)
Sometimes we can make it sound like living into God’s will is a difficult duty or a terrible burden. We can talk about accepting God’s will with about as much enthusiasm as we would for sharing a room with our in-laws on a cruise.
But let’s review what Jesus says is God’s will for us. God’s will is that we would have intimate fellowship with Jesus, who’s the Bread of Life for our hungry souls; who’s the Truth to navigate through lies and deceptions; who’s our Light through the darkness; who’s our Gate to peace; who’s the Water that quenches the deep thirst of our souls; who’s our Good Shepherd leading us lost sheep home to the Father.
What else is God’s will for us?
It’s God’s will that through believing in Jesus, we’re given an abundant life here and now and eternal life from this life to the next.
It’s God’s will to work through us to bring His love and hope, and joy to others.
It’s God’s will that we would cast our burdens upon Him so that we don’t become utterly overwhelmed and crushed by trying to carry them alone.
It’s God’s will that we would be agents of reconciliation and servants of peace.
It’s God’s will that we choose love over hate, hope over despair, courage over fear, and life over death, and we can make these choices with God’s help and grace.
In today’s lesson, Jesus talks about living into God’s will. If we’re going to follow Him, we’ll need to move from being willful about having our own way to being willing to live in God’s way.
Although surrendering our will to God’s will can seem hard and challenging, I encourage us to recognize and embrace that doing so leads to the most exciting and delightful, and meaningful life there is to live.
If Jesus embraced living into God’s will in order to become our Savior, who are we to begrudge doing so if we call Him Lord?
Reflection Questions:
- Do you know God’s will for your own life?
- Knowing God’s will usually isn’t a complicated mystery. Generally, it’s about making a difference, leaving this world a better place, sharing God’s love, or serving those in need. Are you doing any of the above?
- Living into God’s will can be hard for those who are willful about having their own way. Are you working at making progress on moving from serving your will to living into God’s will? If so, how?