Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Our Focus

We understand through Jesus' prayer that all the gifts, the ministry, the teachings come from the Father. "They have known that all things which you have given me are from you" (John 17:7). James tells us, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning" (James 1:17).

Life's experiences can cloud the fact that God loves us personally. When this happens we can become discouraged, depressed, angry or resentful. The disciples were about to face all those feelings in less than 24 hours. Jesus had been preparing them for this time of pitch black darkness for the last few days and hours.

His prayer reminds them and us to return our focus to the eternal when the temporal overpowers our thoughts.