Sign Up with Jesus

"I've used figures of speech in telling you these things. Soon I'll drop the figures and tell you about the Father in plain language. Then you can make your requests directly to him in relation to this life I've revealed to you. I won't continue making requests of the Father on your behalf. I won't need to. Because you've gone out on a limb, committed yourselves to love and trust in me, believing I came directly from the Father, the Father loves you directly. First, I left the Father and arrived in the world; now I leave the world and travel to the Father."~John 16:25-28 The Message Bible

Geography is my weakness. I dreaded the college geography class more than any other class, but unfortunately, it was required for my degree. I struggled to find ways to memorize where all the countries, cities, terrain, and waterways were throughout the world. I was always looking for some creative way to memorize what was expected of me to pass the tests. Some might call these mental cheat sheets. I made up sentences, acronyms, stories, and even visual pictures to find ways to locate the geographical areas of the world. It worked, but after the test was over, I will be honest in saying that I was relieved that the unit was completed, and I remembered very little about what I was supposed to have learned. For whatever reason, my mind isn't attracted to geography!

When I read this passage from John, I thought about how Jesus wants us to understand how simple it is to have a relationship with God through Him.  Prerequisites aren't needed. The laws of the Old Testament continue to be valuable and help guide us, but they are something we can learn about, a little at a time, as we go through life. Tests aren't necessary. Creative writing, acronyms, cues, or cheat sheets won't be needed.  He only asks that we love and trust him. If coming to Jesus were a college class the key to success is quite simple; all that will be needed is to come to Him and sign up. He will be the teacher, and we the students. It will be a class where everyone learns at their own pace, comes from a different place, and has a different hunger for learning. He will have the time and patience that each individual needs to succeed.

In this personal relationship with Jesus, there will be moments when we feel amazing instances of grace or success, and there will also be those moments where we feel defeat or failure. However, the grade is always the same with the simple action of loving and trusting Him. We can count on a passing grade each time we put ourselves into action because whether we succeed or fail,  He will help carry the burdens and get us through. The slate is wiped clean, and we start each day with a crisp new page in the story of our individual lives. So, remember if you are struggling in some area of your life, whether it be a geography class or a terminal illness, we each have challenges that come in an array of sizes, but all we have to do is sign up with Jesus, and that guarantees us a life filled with grace.

Let us pray:

Heavenly Teacher,
Thank You for making it so simple to have a relationship with You.  Remind us that we need only come to You with our love and trust, and our relationship together will grow stronger with each passing day. Help us come to learn that Your Love and Grace are enough.
Amen