People Disappoint
Scripture
Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but
because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer
what was put into it.
(John 12:6 NASB)
(John 12:6 NASB)
Observation
Jesus and his disciples were at the home of their very dear friends, Mary, Martha and Lazarus. Mary was overcome with her love of Jesus, and with obedience to God, and therefore she anointed Jesus' feet with very costly perfume. Judas was indignant at the act. How could she do this; how could she waste something so expensive! He responds by saying she should have sold it and given the money to the poor. What he really meant was that she could give the money to him to manage "for the poor." Sadly, although Judas had been following Christ, listening to his teaching and watching his miracles, he had not really changed. Here was a man who was close enough to touch Jesus on a daily basis, and yet, in his heart he was still corrupt. He was the treasurer for Jesus' team and all along the way he was taking money off the top. He was thrilled at the big offerings, because he could always take more from the ministry and maybe no one would notice. How did he think Jesus never knew?! Jesus knew, and Judas was disappointing.
Application
We all have people who come into our lives and disappoint us. In the long run they turn out to not be who we think they are. They may try to be nice and supportive and yet at the end of the day their own personal motivations take over and somehow they just can't be completely faithful to the Lord, or to us. These are people that will, at times, hurt us and leave us wondering what just hit us! But somehow I find comfort in the fact that Jesus dealt with the very same thing within his intimate circle of friends. Even Jesus, the Messiah, had someone around him who was taking from him on a regular basis. And Jesus did NOT give up on him. Jesus loved Judas to the very bitter end.
The truth is, people will disappoint us. People disappointed Jesus. Our responsibility is our reaction to those who disappoint us. Jesus responded in love and we, too, must respond in love, allowing God to lead us in our response. Also, we must recognize that there are times that we may disappoint others, or we may disappoint God. May we pray that God will help us not to fall into that direction, but if we do, may we allow God to speak to us in truth. Sadly, Judas didn't want any help or guidance. Let's not be stubborn and let's allow God and others to gently nudge us back onto the right path.
People disappointing us -- Yes, it will happen. God disappointing us -- can't happen. That's part of this understanding as well. If there is someone in whom we want to put our trust, it is in him -- the one who will not let us down. Too often when we claim that God has disappointed us, it is because someone has disappointed us, not God. May we be encouraged by God today -- the One who is ever faithful!
Prayer
Lord, please help me not to have my eyes on people, but on You. Amen.
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