Day 146

2 Samuel 9:1–11:27; John 15:1-27; Psalm 119:49-64; Proverbs 16:1-3

DAVID’S CHARACTER SHINES in today’s reading, as he sought to be kind to Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth. Then he plunged into a sordid affair with another man’s wife. Bathsheba slept with King David (though it’s debatable whether she had a choice) and became pregnant. Her husband, Uriah the Hittite, was one of David’s most elite and trusted warriors. David attempted to cover up what he had done by bringing Uriah home from the battlefield so that he might enjoy union with his wife, but the plan didn’t work. Uriah’s faithfulness would not allow him the comforts of home and spouse while his brethren were at war.

The affair itself would have been a scandalous humiliation for the king, but the actions he took to cover it up were even worse —he had Uriah sent back to the front lines with instructions that he be put in the most dangerous positions so that he might be killed in battle. And this is what happened —David had Uriah killed.

In John’s Gospel, we continued with Jesus’ final discussion with His friends at the last meal before His suffering. We’ve spent a couple of days pondering the most popular and riveting statements in this final discourse, and we’ll spend a couple more as we take in the final retelling of Jesus’ last days.

“Remain in me, and I will remain in you,” Jesus said. “For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:4-5).

Separation from God is like a branch being separated from a vine. The branch may look alive temporarily, but the withering and decay become quickly evident. We will never navigate life separated like this because we were never created to do so. And this union, or connection, begins and thrives through relationship —through knowing and being fully known. So how does this union work?

When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.

Jesus said, “I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me” (John 15:15). These two short sentences, spoken from the lips of God incarnate, should humble and transform us. There is a vast chasm between the concept of slavery and that of friendship. We have an open invitation to be the friend of God. Consider that for a moment: a friend of God. Friends spend time together sharing a common life. Friends speak to one another with truth and comfort. Friends walk through difficult things together. Friends have each other’s backs. On and on we could go, describing what having a friend is like. We have a friend in God —this is unquestionable. What kind of friend are we being to God?

Then Jesus offered some sobering news that should give us a larger context for the story we are living in:

If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.

Jesus’ admonition has less to do with planet Earth and more to do with the way we participate in culture and society. We are carrying the light of truth within us, and light shined into darkness exposes what is hidden. This works well when we keep it in the realm of metaphor but becomes quite disruptive and unnerving when we consider its reality.

What is hidden in the dark that you don’t want to be exposed? How would you react toward the person who exposed it? Bingo. Multiply this by billions, and we have a very tangible understanding of why the darkness hates the light.

But what if there were nothing to hide? What if we really were “children of the light” (John 12:36)? Imagine the freedom that Jesus offered to all humanity. Imagine our species coming out of the dark and into the light. This is the offer of the gospel. And this is the context for the fight we find ourselves in.

MEDITATION:

We can make our own plans, but the LORD gives the right answer. People may be pure in their own eyes, but the LORD examines their motives. Commit your actions to the LORD, and your plans will succeed.