Son

“‘I can do nothing on my own authority; as I hear, I judge; and my judgement is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.’” (John 5:17-30).

Eve and the Serpent (Unknown)

Sometimes I forget that Christ is a GOOD SON – a perfect Son in fact.  And I forget that there is a reason why Christ is good and perfect as a SON.  And the reason is ME.  God came to Earth not as God the Father.  He came to Earth not as God the Holy Spirit (initially).  God came to Earth as God the Son.  And there is such a profound reason for this.

When I reflect on the first sin – the one that ruined it all – it is very clear what that sin was.  It was the sin of disobedience and pride.  In other words, it was the sin of a bad son (or daughter)…  God gave us everything and had ONE RULE…  And His rule was, do not eat from that tree.  And instead of listening to that rule, we disobeyed – wilfully and purposefully.  And as a result of that we became subject to all the terrible consequences of sin…

“Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?’  And the woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’’  Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die.  For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’  So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.  Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.” (Genesis 3:1-7).

And there was Eve – choosing to disobey when her knowledge and in fact her everything was less than God.  And there was Christ – who is God Himself – choosing to obey even despite all the suffering and misery and sorrow.

“Jesus said, ‘My Father is working still, and I am working...  Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever he does, that the Son does likewise...  I can do nothing on my own authority; as I hear, I judge; and my judgement is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.’” (John 5:17-30).

And I have been thinking about this today.  For it seems that Christ was not merely the obedient Son because He is a good Son.  He was an obedient Son because He is a good Brother to me.  And His obedience set the precedent that I am supposed to follow…

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.