Room for the Word

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Scripture
John 8:34   Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. 36 So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you look for an opportunity to kill me, because there is no place in you for my word. 38 I declare what I have seen in the Father’s presence; as for you, you should do what you have heard from the Father.”

Observation

The Jews were fond of their genealogies. They loved to prove who they were by the people to whom they were related. Obviously there was great pride in being children of Abraham, but Jesus was messing with they held dear. He was saying that physical descent does not equate to spiritual maturity. When Jesus declared that they had no room for his word, he was implying that these children of Abraham had closed their minds to the truth. The result was that they had become blinded to the realities of God which stood right before them. 

The implication is that true descendants of Abraham would have, with open minds, received Jesus. While this group of individuals is concerned with their physical line of heredity, Jesus is revealing to them the true line of heredity back to the Father. It is the work of the Son which will provide the pathway to the Father and this will be by opening the opportunity for adoption. True children will be those who have been adopted into the family and this, by creating room for the word, and hence, they will have direct access to the Father. They, too, will know what is declared in the Father’s presence, for they will be united with God. The true descendants of Abraham will listen to and know the voice of the Father for they will have room for the word. If there is no room for the word, then you may be a physical descendant, but not a true child.  

Application

Many of us may be able to trace our spiritual genealogy through generations of family in the church. We can be just as prideful as the children of Abraham. Because of the relationship, we may also believe that we have ownership and can be the ones to determine everything that is to happen at church. What happens when a new generation of believers begins to fill the place? Do we insist on having things our way because our family has been invested in the place for so long? The religious officials were stuck in their stubborn ways and refused to see that God was doing a new thing. 

God just may be at work doing something completely new and different and only those who are connected to the Father are going to see and understand what is happening. 

There must be room for the word in our lives. The word is living, active, moving, breathing and ever leading. This life with the Father is not static and therefore we must be malleable in God’s hands. We become children who are willing to be shaped for use by the Father. The world around us is constantly in a state of change and for us to be faithful servants in the kingdom, we must be flexible. Those living in their spiritual genealogy are rigid with no room for the word. True children of the kingdom are flexible for they have made room for the word.

Prayer

Lord, may I be a flexible and pliable instrument in your hands. Amen.


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