An Emptied Purse
- Total Dependence On God Comes From A Sense Of His Everlasting Love
Written by Eileen R. Jacobs
"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." - John 15:5
"Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love." - John 15:9
I usually carry around a duffel-bag size purse. You may laugh, but I seriously depend on all of the contents of my many-chambered bag. Everything necessary for life on the road with the Jacobs family is in there: the messy wipes and kleenex; the first aid kit packed with band-aids for the kids and aspirin for mom; make-up and chapstick; a hairbrush and clippies; crayons and scratch pads; the camera and extra batteries; broken snacks and melted chocolate pieces; everybody's sunglasses and the sunblock; the 25 piece wad of keys; cash, coupons and credit cards; and a few unmentionables. To my credit, I still have yet to carry all of the typical electronic gadgets...i.e a cell phone, etc. Once in a while, I actually empty the contents of my purse and opt for a really light load. This past week we braved the local county fair. I knew my body would be sometimes moving at rapid speeds and whirling in directions I did not want to see the contents of my purse flying. I had little desire to even entertain the thought that I may have to retrieve certain projectiles that may have escaped by centrifugal force. I figured I could survive with my camera, and if we really needed something, I had a few dollars in cash, my credit card and my driver's license. What freedom to not carry such a heavy load!
Now obviously, I routinely carry all of those things in my purse, because I have convinced myself that it's better to be prepared for the unknown. However, I can call it by any name that I wish, but it is really a simple form of worry that we may get stuck somewhere and suddenly have a need. In our daily lives, we wander around carrying these masterfully packed heavy loads; a glorified purse, if you will. Most of us have our bags jammed with worries, doubts, and fears. Maybe you are worried about your children, your job, your ability to pay bills. Many today are afraid of the crumbling economy. Some of you may be struggling with your health, or broken relationships. Perhaps you're even having doubts about God. Does He even care? Another thing most of us have in our purses (or wallet, if you are a guy) is our well stocked first aid kit; our very own solutions to our unique problems. Unfortunately, none of the contents of our purses has helped any of us live an abundant life, filled with the everlasting joy that the Bible promises. There is a lot we can learn by looking at Jesus and considering the contents of His purse. Our Savior Jesus shared the Divine glory before anything in our world ever existed. Yet the Bible tells us that even though He was still completely Divine when He came to earth, He...
“...emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.” - Philippians 2:7
Jesus put aside His glory, and wisdom, and power, and placed Himself in full dependence on the Father while He was on earth. His purse was emptied, so to speak. Could He have applied His Divine power? Of course! He told Peter when the crowds came to arrest Him at the garden of Gethsemane,
“Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?” - Matthew 26:53-54
Jesus placed Himself in total dependence on the Father in order to identify with us. Like Jesus, we also must live in total dependence on the Father. This is why the bible assures us that Jesus can sympathize with our every weakness.
“For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. " - Hebrews 4:15
How was Jesus tempted as we are? He was faced with every form of human evil. He was attacked with the lies and temptations of Satan himself. He was rejected by men. He was constantly faced with the doubts, criticism and unbelief from His own people, from His personal family, and the slowness of faith with His own disciples and close friends. He suffered terrible circumstances that would make anyone feel abandoned by God. And finally, being completely perfect and without sin, He was punished for every sin and received every pain and disease for every human being who had ever lived and every human being who would come after Him until His second coming. His entire life on earth was submitted to complete dependence on God the Father, but more than that, Jesus had a security that allowed Him to trust God for everything He had set aside; His glory, His wisdom, His power. This was His response to the Jews who were seeking to kill Him because of His relationship to the Father.
“Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.
For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel.” - John 5:19-20 (emphasis added)
Jesus had Total Dependence with Total Confidence because He knew one thing: The Father Loved Him!!! That was His secret. Oh that we would empty our purse, just like Jesus did and walk in Total Dependence with Total Confidence because of the certainty that: The Father Loves Us! Now that, dear friends, is GRACE!
“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” - John 15:5
“Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.” - John 15:9
written by
Eileen R. Jacobs (August 2009)
Copyright © 2009 Eileen Jacobs Ministries. All rights reserved.
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