Testing

John 6:15-"Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone."

John 7:1-"After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him."

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We are tested in many ways.
Sometimes, we are tested by the criticism of man
and sometimes,
we are tested by the praises of men.
The "praises of man" test
is by far the hardest test.

When we see someone do something well
and go beyond the call of ordinary,
it is human nature to want to
make them 'king.'

We as a people long to gaze upward.
We long to rest our minds and let someone
else do our thinking.
"Tell me what to do.
Tell me how to think.
And I'll give you love and adoration.
I'll be loyal to you.
I won't sift through your words to find
truth or falsehood.
I won't risk your anger
by questioning your motives and methods.
Just be my 'king.'"

The pedestal of people's praises
perches on a perilous platform
of perfect performance.

We tend to want the praises that come
with a public image
but want to side step
the criticism
that accompanies public responsibility.

Jesus avoided the praises of man.
When they wanted to make Him king,
He went up into the mountains to be alone.

He avoided being crucified before His time as well.
He was not moved by the praises or criticism of man.

He was, however, moved with compassion.
And He laid His life down for all-
including those who wanted to take Him by force
and crown Him as earthly king
as well as those who wanted to crown Him with thorns.

If you are one they want to 'crown as king'
or if you are one they want to 'crucify,'
run to the hills!

Sleep on the dirt and use a rock for a pillow.
Taste the dew of the morning
and listen to the sounds of night.
Don't leave until you realize
how susceptible you are to both
the praises and the fear of man.

Don't leave until you see how much you miss
the ringing of your cell phone
and how empty you feel
when you are not responding to a crisis.

And then stay longer.
Stay until you want to hear only
the praises of God;
until man made stimuli seems
like a nuisance rather than a necessity;
until you forget your name.

And then stay longer,
and eat the fruit of the field,
catch the fish from the lake,
swim in the reflection of the moon,
become reacquainted with the dirt
from whence you were formed.

Until you can say of man's criticism,
"They were right about some things.
Lord, defend in me what you can
and cleanse me from what you cannot."

Until peace is your governor and no longer your god.
Until your wound brings you the cure.

Until your heart is broken
with the love and grace God
has poured out on "a sinner
such as I."

Until you know His call.
Until you know that you are not
that important and that it is not about you.

Until you know you are a king and priest
unto God.
Until you know that you are less than the least
and that you are only a servant
doing what your master has asked you to do.

Until you know He has called you His friend.

And then come back down the mountain.
Full of grace and love and truth.
Full of compassion for those who
praise and crucify you.
Full of God Himself,
ready to lay your life down
for His sheep.