“And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” John 12:32 (NLT)
In this passage Jesus is talking about ascending into heaven and how that resurrection power has a natural inclination to draw men to Himself, but I want to change the slant of it slightly.
We have these plastic liners for our kitchen rubbish bin. The plastic liners have a draw string on them to lift up the bag and tie it off when it’s full. Like a typical draw-string, when you lift it up it draws in the edges of the bag and pulls them tightly together.
Similarly, a powerful effect happens when we come together to lift up Jesus. If only for a short moment, it gets our eyes off the “me first mentality” we’re bombarded with in daily life, and we can come together in unity. And it’s in unity that God commands His blessing (Ps 133). We are designed for community and relationship and it’s most powerfully outworked when we lift Him up… when we’re not looking down at our toes but we are standing together to look up!
Sometimes joining together with other people can be frustrating (we are all imperfect beings) but it’s not about ‘not being frustrated’, it’s about ‘relationship’ and that the desire of the Father is that we dwell together… not alone! Iron sharpens iron after all… and when we make Jesus the centre, a little sharpening that happens in ‘community' actually isn’t so bad. Enjoy the amazing gift of this day and allow yourself to be sharpened. Much love.
