Christian trail
Benchmark: John the Beloved had a Home!
"...Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home...." John 19:25-30, KJV
The Bible is silent about many things; for what reason, I know not! But, as I search God's Word daily, I grasp that those silence are deliberate attempts of God to make us go deeper, in the Word, to know His mind on any matter. Prov. 25:2 attests to this: "It is the glory of God to CONCEAL a thing: but the honour of kings is to SEARCH out a matter." This informed our early resolution in marriage. We agreed we would read books, attend seminars and retreats, listen to elders and the likes; but our marriage must be patterned after what God has privately revealed to us. Why? No two marriages are the same! People, even pastors, usually speak and write from their own experiences, which sometimes are 'expired senses'! Please study your Bible.
Now, let us peep into and learn from the home of John the Beloved. Jesus, almost breathing His last, at Calvary, realised that He was, in a way, going to dash the hope of His mother. How do I mean? Mary must have told Jesus her ordeals before, during and after she had Him - the shame of carrying a pregnancy outside her marriage; the taunting of Joseph, her fiance - you would recall that God had to force him to accept Mary, with her pregnancy; and the rejection she suffered from the society and even her family. So, Jesus would have also made great promises to Mary. But now, at 33, writhing in excruciating pains on the cross, those promises were not going to see the light of the day. His pains became more grievous. Honestly, I still feel the Master's heartbeat.
At that crucial moment, John the Beloved surfaced. As Jesus sighted him, His worry, about Mary's welfare, was gone. "Whatever I cannot do for My mother, I trust John would do it," Jesus said to Himself. So, in total trust (no whiff of doubt), He handed Mary over to His beloved disciple, who never disappointed. Mary's mourning ended, such that no single account has it, in the Bible, that she ever missed Jesus. John filled in that gap perfectly. Might I remind you that Jesus had grown up brothers? The Books of James and Jude were written by His half-brothers! But then, Jesus could not trust them with the life of Mary. Lord, can You trust me with the lives of men?! Can You trust me enough not to take advantage of those disciple-sisters? Why am I not yet Your true picture to my disciples? I seek Your grace, Lord.
Meanwhile, the main challenge for me, this morning, is that John, the beloved, had a home! The Bible says, John took Mary to "his own HOME (not house)". He had a home; he had a good wife who was ever ready to refresh the bowels of guests and brethren. Though the Bible is silent about Mrs John, it is a given that a man cannot have a home, that would make a bereaved person like Mary comfortable for many years till she died, without a good wife! That woman, a silent disciple, needed no prior notice to receive guests. Her husband did not hesitate in obeying the Master's order because he trusted that his wife would not falter. And Mrs John did not fail her husband.
Lord, help the hearts of our (single and married) sisters not to send Your 'Marys' away. When the LORD visited Abraham with the good news of Sarah giving birth to a son, He came as three ORDINARY men (Genesis 18)! Without prior notice, Sarah, enthusiastically, made a great feast for the unexpected guests. Such were the homes of our patriarchs! Many marriages have missed it because our sisters lack this godly virtue. Oh Lord, hear our cry; give us Christian homes: Homes crown with beauty that Your love has wrought; homes where the mothers, in queenly quest, strive to show others that Your way is best. Father, this one thing we desire and ask of You: Make ours a Christian home indeed. Let our marriage, from now on, set the benchmark of a true Christian home. Amen.
(Paul Pius - June 30, 2017; 6:10am)