Sharing in Each others suffering(pt 8)

In each of these reflections I have tried to present some principles about how to respond when it appears that God is silent to our pleas for His intervention. In previous reflections I asked some of the following questions:

Have you ever brought a situation before God in prayer? Did it involve a reasonable deadline which was missed? Does it appear that God has remained silent even though all your presumed deadlines had been exceeded?

My cherished friend,i want encourage you with statement.If your answer to any of the above questions is in the affirmative, perhaps a straightforward 'yes', then we have a common quest in these series of reflections on sharing in each others suffering: Our quest is to discover how to respond to our needs the way God will want us to respond.In order to do so our response must be in line with God's Word . When our response is in line with God's word,OUR LIFE OPENS UP! THEN WE BECOME BETTER ACQUAINTED WITH OUR PURPOSE FOR BEING HERE!

In a previous reflection i said that God has a specific response to each of our situations. But this is not necessarily our chosen method of delivery.Iam also recognising a pattern that God has used in scripture to illustrate how He touches our lives.
JESUS CHRIST SPEAKS TO US ABOUT OUR OWN NEED AND OUR OWN PAIN AS WE GET INVOLVED IN THE PAIN AND THE NEEDS OF OTHERS.IF THERE IS GOING TO BE A RESPONSE FROM GOD ABOUT HOW HE DEALS WITH OUR PARTICULAR NEED IT IS LINKED TO BEING INVOLVED IN THE NEEDS OF OTHERS.THE PROBLEMS OF MY NEIGHBOUR ARE DESIGNED BY GOD TO SERVE AS BRIDGE OVER MY OWN TROUBLES. IF I BECOME DETACHED AND INSENSITIVE TO THE NEEDS OF OTHERS THEN I AM GOING TO BE STARVED OF THE VERY ANSWERS I AM LOOKING FOR IN MY OWN SITUATION!

Beloved friends,how did Jesus Christ respond in His time of need.Please COME WITH ME ON A BRIEF JOURNEY TOWARDS HIS PASSION AND THE CROSSROADS OF OUR ETERNAL DESTINY. In Luke 22:41-45 'Jesus walked on a little way before He knelt down and prayed,v42 Father ,if you will, please don't make me suffer by having me drink from this cup.BUT DO WHAT YOU WANT,AND NOT WHAT I WANT.V43 THEN AN ANGEL FROM HEAVEN CAME TO HELP HIM.V44 JESUS WAS IN GREAT PAIN AND PRAYED SO SINCERELY THAT HIS SWEAT FELL TO THE GROUND LIKE DROPS OF BLOOD. V45 JESUS GOT UP FROM PRAYING AND WENT OVER TO HIS DISCIPLES. THEY WERE ASLEEP AND WORN OUT FROM BEING SO SAD. V46 HE SAID TO THEM, WHY ARE YOU ASLEEP?WAKE UP AND PRAY THAT YOU WON'T BE TESTED'

Beloved friends,In our 'journey towards the passion of Jesus Christ' we are first of all confronted with our own crossroads.It is the same crossroads that the disciples were confronted with two thousand years ago!Let me explain a bit more about the 'crossroads'. Well the disciples were left in no doubt that Jesus Christ was the jewish messiah, the Christ and in others words God's Annointed one. He was also God's beloved son. Which means He COULD OVERCOME ALL EARTHLY POWER ATLEAST! They knew this much!
When Jesus Christ was being arrested they expected Him to DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!As the 'son of David' they expected a 'Goliath slaying performance' to say the least.The lastt thing they were expecting was a SURRENDER! That was not in their theology.They had made no provision for 'arrest','imprisonment' and 'execution' in their theology.
Dear friend, DO YOU HAVE ANY PROVISION FOR SUFFERING IN YOUR THEOLOGY? EVEN IF YOU DON'T GOD STILL DOES!A human will that is totally and unreservedly surrended to God is the key that unlocks our eternal destiny in God. The individual who responds the way God wants him/her to a daily basis is in a nutshell sharing in the fellowship of Christ's suffering.The essence of the Christian faith is to identify with Jesus Christ in His moment of greatest need.In His moment of suffering.What was the response of the disciples? We needs to understand their response because that characterises the responses that are being given to Christ today. Today the suffering of Jesus Christ is still continuing. But this time He is wearing a disguise by not suffering in the physical form of a middle easterner from a place called Galilea. Jesus Christ HAS COME CLOSER HOME.His suffering is now being represented through the daily suffering and struggles of the vulnerable people we encounter in our life. In our families, in our Churches, and in our community. If we ignore the needs of those around us in a real sense we are ignoring the suffering of Jesus

In the process of responding to the needs of others in our family, in our church, in our communiy and in our world we uphold God's principles to the standard He has outlined in scripture.
In John 19:25 Jesus mother sood beside his cross wih her sister and Mary the wife of Clopas,Mary Magdalene was standing there too. v26 When Jesus saw his mother and his favourite disciple with her, he said to his mother,''This man is now your son.'' v27 Then he said to the disciple,''She is now your mother''.From then on, that disciple took her into his own home.
Jesus has given us the example to conduct our lives by. His situation then provides the guidelines to follow when we are confronted with adverse situations. In part 9 i would like o provide a few suggesions about how to be creative in siuations where relationships are dysfunctional. Because of this sometimes we suffer an element of rejection from those we try to reach out to. In other words how to respond when those in need do not see their need.(to be continued)


God bless you

John