Perceived Truth and Absolute Truth

Written and posted by Jean-Louis.

  I am sure all of you have already heard this cliché: “Perception is reality” with the underlying appeal to the deceptive side of man that if something is presented in a such a way as to sound or to look real, most people will believe that it is indeed real. Of course the concept taken in an absolute sense is erroneous. But it is used especially in the business world to train people to present in the best light whatever product they are trying to sell.

 It is also used in false religions, or in cults Christian or non Christian to reprogram the brain and deceive inquisitive seekers in search for God, love, peace and unity for the human race with the ultimate appealing promise of becoming god or a god.
One definition of truth could be absolute and exact correspondence with the reality of God’s word and embodied and personnified by the Lord Jesus Christ who said : “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes through the Father except through me.” John 14: 6.

When Pilate asked Jesus if he was a king, Jesus replied:

“You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” John 18:37. 
Jesus has a way of making things clear, simple and understandable. There is no gray area of personal perception. It´s either you believe or you don´t, you are on my side or on the other. No wiggling room, no tweeking the Gospel of the supernatural birth, perfect earthly life and sacrificial death on the cross, then burial and resurrection and finally the ascension to heaven.  


Now without the Way there is no going or coming because of our natural spiritual blindness, without Truth there is no knowing with absolute certainty in the midst of lies and without Life there is no real living in the present world of death and dying.

Now let’s see if under some circumstances, this can be true from a biblical point of view.
Sometimes we can interpret real factual truth to be absolute when the way we perceive the facts is distorted by experiences that have been shaped by our personal make up and emotional or intellectual understanding of life’s circumstances and our relationships.

Take for example the passage about the flight of Jacob away from Laban in Genesis 3.
In this chapter, we have 2 examples in which Laban interpreted real facts and extrapolated his perceptions to be actual truth corresponding exactly with the reality of what happened.

When Laban caught up with Jacob, as related in verse 26, he told Jacob:
“What have you done by deceiving me and carrying away my daughters like captives of the sword?” Was this what really happened or just an assumption on the part of Laban?

Let’s look at verse 3 to find out. “Then the Lord said to Jacob; “return to the land of your fathers and to your relatives and I will be with you”.

When Jacob related the encounter with the Lord to his wives, here is what they said in verse 15 to 17:
“Are we not reckoned to him as foreigners? For he has sold us and has entirely consumed our purchase price. Surely all the wealth which God has taken away from our father belongs to us and our children, now then, do whatever God has said to you”.

There also seems to be some duplicity in these words that sound like acquiescence to God’s command and submission to the husband. But for right now, to follow the subject, let’s continue with Laban’s apparent motive for distorting a real fact, his daughter’s disappearance and interpreting it as a the real truth.
Laban, like Jacob was a deceiver and as such, was afraid of being deceived, so he acted under the assumption, valid as it may, that Jacob thought and acted like him when in fact the daughters partly motivated by fear of being kept out of their inheritance followed their husband willingly.

Another example in the same chapter, verse 13.
Laban accuses Jacob of having stolen his household gods, (teraphim) under a false assumption. Was it a real fact that his idols had disappeared? Yes, it was.
Was it really true that Jacob had stolen them?

No, not at all. It was just a false perception on the part of Laban, due partly because of his resentment at having been dispossessed of his flocks by his nephew, but also because of an emotional dynamic present in the heart of a parent who, no matter what the behavior of their children will excuse and cover it up out of a sense of idealizing the beloved person which is really idolatry in disguise.

Another factor that comes in the picture to reinforce this natural tendency is that we don’t want to admit that we are wrong and would prefer to continue in our denial and self-deceit rather than agreeing with God as to what is true and real about ourselves and the ones we are trying to protect, thus taking the first and necessary step towards freedom from emotional and spiritual bondage. We can see that Laban wanted to keep Rachel as long as possible because of his fatherly love for her as well as to keep Jacob for seven more years.

Now let’s look at the role Rachel played in taking the deceit one step further.
But first let’s look at what could have motivated Rachel to take her father’s household gods and hide them from Jacob. Could it be that she really didn’t trust the God of Jacob to provide them with everything they needed, so that she felt a need to rely on her idols to protect her and make her fruitful in the bearing of children? Could it be one of the reasons why God didn’t open her womb until later on?

Now back to Rachel and her deception.

Why did she use faking her condition to hide the teraphim? Could it because she knew that it would be a sure way of ensuring that her deception would be successful?
She certainly played on her father’s sympathy for a physiological condition that men recognized and perhaps respected. I am not sure about the laws of the Medianites at that time concerning contact during a woman’s natural cycle. The hygienic and health laws were given to Moses and written down later in Exodus.

By the way, even though their meeting and marriage as well as those of their parents and grand-parents was predestinated and within the will of God, it didn’t mean that they were going to experience a perfect, conflict free married life. So when two people meet in the will and purpose of God, although the courtship period might be very enjoyable and directed by the will and the purpose of God, married life later on is hard as is unmarried life or harder. That’s why one cannot have any illusions about marriage. Getting to know each other, doing the right thing, at the right time in the process of getting engaged and then married doesn’t guarantee a pain free, conflict free marriage.

It is easy to fall in love and be transported by feelings during the engagement period, but then once the vows have been exchanged and after the honeymoon, reality sets in. That’s when and where commitment takes over and can carry the marriage for years till the end through the rough, turbulent waters of life. But there is so much joy and happiness in a good marriage that it makes up for all the other trouble when true and lasting love is present. Nothing in the world can destroy the strength and permanence of true love and commitment.

Back to false perceptions. Laban is still not getting the point and continues in his denial and deception. Since they haven’t found the household idols, the problem has not been resolved and his deceitful nature is still working against him.
Verse 43: “Then Laban answered and said to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters and the children are my children and the flocks are my flocks and all that you see is mine, But what can I do this day to these my daughter or to their children whom they have borne?”

It might sound a bit callous, judgmental and cynical and I may be wrong, but what follows in verses 44 to 53 seems to be a ritual in which Laban engages to give weight to a decision that was made for him by Jacob, by invoking the name of God and manufacturing a divine stamp of approval for his attitude and behavior. After all, all God said to Laban about Jacob and the way to treat him in a dream was to:
“Be careful that you do not speak to Jacob good or bad” (verse 24).
Laban didn’t think that he was speaking good or bad when he accused Jacob of abducting his daughters and stealing his household idols. He was analyzing the situation from the mistaken premise of a false perception based on a true fact, the disappearance of his daughters and his teraphim.

This is why we need so much the wisdom, understanding and discernment of God to differentiate between what is absolute truth as revealed in the Word of God when it is revealed to us and our perceptions based on true and real facts that are nevertheless colored by our own emotional and intellectual make up and our own personal life experiences.

Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”Proverbs 3; 5: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.”

The Woman at the Well

By Jean-Louis.

People generally tend to divide themselves into two categories in their approach to and attitudes towards life. Some say they are optimists, others declare themselves as pessimists.

The optimists in order to illustrate the superiority of their position give the analogy of the glass. They say somewhat proudly: “we, optimists see the glass half full while the pessimist’s point of view is to see it half empty”.

I would tend to credit the optimist with being closer to reality because if we agree that the container is not as important as the water, at least the optimist can drink out of his full half while the pessimist is going to have a hard time drinking out of his empty half of the glass which is filled with air! Really, both parties end up with only half a glass, whether empty or full.

I suggest a third position, that of a truly thirsty person. The man or woman who is really thirsty doesn’t have the time to philosophize about the full or half capacity of the container. He knows that what is going to quench his thirst is not really the glass or the sense of superiority experienced when comparing attitudes, but the substance contained in it in response to the intensity of his need.

Give him what he needs so desperately and he will find a way to drink, whether it be right out of the faucet, out of his cupped hands, out of a bottle, on his knees lapping at the cool refreshing stream or in whatever way possible.

If we turn to John chapter 4 telling the story of the Samaritan woman, we can see a woman perplexed when told by Jesus that He can give her living water. Her reaction is to say: “How can you give me water when you don’t have a container?” This reaction is typical of the natural mind’s logic. Jesus here in order to illustrate a spiritual point departs from a physical need common to all and understandable by all. With the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, He points out to the woman that while she might be satisfied until the next time she is thirsty, she will have to come back to the well and draw some more water. Until now, she was concentrating on the outward things, the container without which Jesus couldn’t draw water, the increased difficulty caused by the depth of the well, her own unbelief as she probably thought: “what kind of a man is this that pretend to do things that are physically impossible”.

Isn’t that the position that we sometimes take even when we know and have tasted of the living water of the Spirit? Jesus first had to show the woman two things that she needed in order to have eternal life:

• First, the gift of God, new life in the Spirit and,
• Second, the giver of life, both present in the person of Jesus the Son of God, the source and creator of all life.

What is the response of the woman even before Jesus tells her about herself things that he couldn’t have known as an ordinary human being? Her response was that of a thirsty woman. Notice that at this point, she is not talking or concerned about the container anymore. Rather she cries out: “give me the water”. She has taken her eyes off the physical, natural realm with its limitations, impossibilities and turned them to the one whose gifts are beyond and far better than his creation, she has acknowledged, accepted her need and welcomed the means to fill it.

She herself has become the container ready to be filled; she is about to go through the door that separates the natural life from the spiritual life.

The world might have what seems like very clever ways and pretentiously wise views of looking at life and things, but God’s perspective is always better, wiser and goes beyond even the best perspective of man such as the optimist’s half full glass.

The optimist sees his cup half full, the pessimist sees it half empty, but our Lord wants His children to see themselves as neither, but as yielded vessels thirsty for the living water of the Spirit so that He might fill them up to overflowing with abundant life to share with and bless others with showing them the way to find the fountain of living waters.

Jean-Louis.

Mi Lápiz en la Mano de Dios

Por Jean-Louis

Mi lápiz tiene dos puntas,
Una para escribir, la otra para borrar.
Frente a mis ojos, hay una página,
Virgen y blanca, todavía sin ninguna letra.
En el camino, hay que reflexionar
Para ver adonde uno va.


Ambas partes de mi lápiz se encuentran muy usadas,
La que escribe puede contar muchas historias.
La que borra no se recuerda de ellas.
Son opuestas, pero amigas.
La que borra el pasado
Cuenta con la otra para un nuevo futuro.


Por eso, pide la de atrás a la del frente,
“Cuidado mi amiga, de aquí en adelante,
Porque mi vida es más corta que la tuya.
¿Qué harás de tu pasado, con los errores tuyos
Cuando mi vida se acabará?
Cuando salga, tendrás que vivir con ellos”.


Oh, Dios mío, mi borrador es temporal,
El tuyo es eterno, mi Padre Celestial,
Gracias, porque por tu misericordia, tú me perdonas.
Con tu fidelidad, amor y verdad, mi vida tú guardas.
Enséñame a contar bien mis días, para adquirir un corazón sabio,
Uno tierno como el tuyo.


Guía lo que queda de mi lápiz con tu mano divina,
Escribiendo en esta página blanca,
Lo que ya tienes escrito desde antes,
Según tu plan eterno,
Y tu voluntad perfecta,
Para que no tenga que usar más,
La otra parte de mi lápiz
Y borrar los momentos dolorosos de mi memoria.


A partir de ahora en adelante,
Deseo usar el resto de mi lápiz para escribir
Lo que vas a cumplir sobre esta página blanca,
Maravillas reales y esplendorosas.
Mis sueños vacíos no más seguiré,
Ni el forjarme castillos en el aire,
Sino la realidad del presente, la esperanza que trae el futuro,
Pasado en tu presencia y a tu servicio.
Amén.




Jean-Louis.
El 24 de Julio 2004

My Pencil in the Hand of God

                                                                       
Written and published by Jean-Louis
http://thelightseed.blogspot.com
Photo from: http://www.ehow.com/how_6494569_post-stories-published.html

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26 King James Bible (Cambridge Ed.)

Being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. II Corinthians 3:3

My pencil has two ends,
The sharp one writes,
The other mercifully erases.
In front of my eyes,
A silent white page,                                           
Without a word lies.
Sometimes, along life’s journey                                                               
One must ponder about the rest of the way.

Both ends of my pencil are well worn,
The hard one can spin many a tale,
The soft one prefers to forget.
They are opposite but friends.
The red one erases the debts of the past
Relying on the black one
for a future that will last.

The rear one cautions the lead one,
“Be careful my friend, from now on,
Consider well when making a point
For my life line is shorter than yours.
What will you do with your errors past,
When my life is over? When I am gone,
You´ll have to live with them at last”.

My God, my eraser is temporal,
But yours, Heavenly Father is eternal.
Thank you, for in your mercy, you forgive me.
With your love and truth, you protect my life.
"Teach me to number my days aright
That I may gain a heart of wisdom."
One that is tender and loving like yours.

With your divine hand guide what is left of my pencil,
Writing on this blank page,
What has been written from time immemorial,
According to your eternal plan
And your perfect will.
Then, I will not have to erase at all
So many painful moments off my memory.

From now on, I want to use
What’s left of my pencil to write
What you will accomplish on this white page,
Your real and marvelous wonders.
I will no longer follow my empty dreams,
Neither will I build castles in Spain.
I will live in your present reality, even with pain,
Passed in your presence and at your service,
With the hope the future brings.
Amen. 

 

Jean-Louis

August 29 2004

___________________________

My Pencil in the Hand of God

(The rest of the poem as somebody would say)

Actually there is a story behind this poem as with everything I write.
The summer of 2005, I was waiting for an answer from the college to which I had applied for a teaching position. After 3 months, the final list of potential candidates to be interviewed was down to 12. I was supposed to meet the program coordinator at 2:00 PM that day. She arrived late and appeared overloaded and overwhelmed. She looked around a bit for my file containing the resume, but couldn´t find it.

Then, she said something that caught my attention. She was anxious about finding a Christian teacher for the position. The continuing education director told her not to worry about it because the Lord was going to provide the teacher that they needed. She also mentioned that her pastor said in the Sunday sermon that we are to put “our pencil in the hand of God

Mind you, I had never heard that expression in all my life. It came to me as the title of the  poem I wrote in 2004. I knew something unusual was at work, my ears were perked up waiting for her to begin the interview. She asked me to briefly tell her about myself since she had forgotten the contents of my resume. It was at that moment that I discovered that I had left a copy of the poem in the back of my yellow pad. So instead of telling her about my teaching experience, I simply handed her the poem telling her that she might be interested in looking at it before I started.

When she saw the title, her jaw dropped! After she was through reading, she just said: " I don´t need to hear your life experience, you are hired" and handed me a contract to sign.

Two weeks later, while I was changing the locks at a customer´s houseI had another confirmation from him, as he was related a story about a court proceeding used the same exact words. he not so odd thing is that he didn´t know anything about me writing a poem by that title.

The Lord providential hand was at work in my life as he has always been since the day I was born. He is good to us and always cares and guides his children. I praise and thank him for his grace and mercy on us.

When the Shepherd speaks to or through His sheep, He always gives 2 or 3 confirmations coming from sources that are not familiar with a prayer, a vision or a dream of the believer. ( No, Don´t worry. I am not a Charismatic, Pentecostal believer, or New Apostolic Reformation . I have repented from and renounced all the occult powers from my New Age, Occult involvement and these happened rarely at certain crucial moments of my life when human wisdom, counsel or help will not do)

 This is when I realized from the confirmations that this poem that I wrote in 2004 was from God to encourage, comfort and exhort my brothers and in addition acted as the key that unlocked the door through which I could walk in confidence knowing that the Author of the inspiration and the guide that gave me the opportunity and the blessing to exercise my vocation as a language teacher never sleeps nor slumber and looks to and fro throughout the earth to bless those who fear Him. This is the God we worship, love and serve.

It´s a good thing that I had this job in addition to my meager but sufficient retirement pension adequate for my needs. The Lord knew that I would have to sell my house and my business due to the shingles (disabilitating viral infection) that left me unable to work physically at my locksmith job in 2006.

I worked at the Community College until I moved to Brazil in 2009.

Distance, Separation and the Cure

Looking Forward to 2013

Written and posted by Jean-Louis - http://thelightseed.blogspot.com





“See. I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the heart of the children to their fathers: or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.” Malachi 4:5.

The ministry of reconciliation

“Therefore if anyone be in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. As ambassadors committed with the ministry of reconciliation, as though God were making an appeal through us, we implore you on Christ‘s behalf:
Be reconciled to God."
2 Corinthians 5:17-20.


Distance and separation

And the space between ourselves sometimes
is more than the distance between the stars.
By the fragile bridge of the Servant's bow
we take up the basin and the towel.

Read more, The Basin and the Towel

Definition of “Far away” in The Fuegian language of
Tierra del Fuego. A seven syllable word which means:

“They stare at each other, each waiting for the other to do what each wants but is not able to.”

One can appreciate the rich and insightful imagery of primitive language, but the question remains: Is it a matter of inability or unwillingness?

When the Lord Jesus was approaching the hour of His death, He himself prayed giving us a model prayer: “Father not my will, but yours be done”

What keeps us separated? Basically it is our pride and unwillingness to humble ourselves. We prefer to remain in a prison of our own making, when the key has been given to us that could release us from being captive to our own will and stubbornness.

Every argument won in a verbal conflict at the detriment of forgiveness and reconciliation ends up being one more brick we use in building a wall of separation protecting us from the very ones that Christ has sent our way to help them in their struggle to find forgiveness and freedom from spiritual captivity.

Every argument won ends up being one more shovel full in digging deeper the ditch of distance between persons whose ministry is to be a bridge builder, not a wall builder or a ditch digger.

The remedy

Do we have the key? Only God can give us the key to freedom.

Isaiah declares: “He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge;
The fear of the Lord is the KEY to this treasure.” Isaiah 33:6.

Do we need a sure foundation in our present time of confusion, perplexity, and contemplating our navel and worshiping the earth to find the solution with the greatest brains as guides in our cultures of death?

The Lord Jesus to John the apostle in Revelation chapter 3:7: “These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.”

There is a time and a season for everything under the sun, but Jesus is sending his servants to proclaim that "NOW is the day of salvation and that there is no other name under heaven but the name of Jesus by which man can be saved"

The only way men can experience real peace and reconciliation with others is to first be reconciled with God

Oh, that we would heed the command of our Lord Jesus to build bridges and tear down brick by brick the strongholds in our hearts that we have erected patiently, day after day, month after month until it becomes the very fabric that makes up the callous covering of protection keeping other people from being welcome in our hearts.

So looking forward to this New Year’s eve, this is my hope and prayer for the New Year for the readers of this blog that do not know the Lord Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Be reconciled first with God through recognizing and accepting the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus for you, He brought peace to us who were enemies of God; receive the pardon and salvation that are already paid for by His blood shed for you on the cross and the free gift of eternal life available to all who humbly turn to His light and life from their slavery to sin.

If you already know the Lord Jesus, His peace to you and may His grace and love abide and rule in your heart as you seek to do His will, to be fruitful and keep looking for His soon return.

Heavenly Father, by your grace and the power of your love through your Holy Spirit, free the prisoners in our families, our churches. You alone can penetrate through and behind those brick walls and fill those ditches of separation. You alone can heal bitter, broken hearts and restore us to our call to love you and serve you as we obey your command to love each other sincerely from the heart and serve our brothers in humility and submission to your will and purpose in our lives.

His Name is a strong tower and we are victorious by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony that Jesus alone is Lord of Lords and King of Kings and worthy of our praise. Blessed be His holy Name. Amen.

Jean-Louis
12/3/2012 Edited and from previous posting 12/2009.

LE SAVONS-NOUS?

By Jean-Louis

Savons-nous que le Seigneur Dieu est un feu qui consume?
Que sa parole est semblable à un marteau et à une flamme?
Alors, quand il nous forge à travers le feu de l’affliction.
Ne résistons point à l’oeuvre purificatrice du Saint-Esprit.
Son seul désir est de retirer les idoles de nos vies
Et de régner, souverain incontesté dans nos coeurs.


Savons-nous qu’il envoya le prophète Ezekiel
Pour rendre le souffle de vie aux os secs et morts,
Alors, lui serait-il impossible de rassembler
Ceux que par sa volonté il a dispersés?


Savons-nous qu’il se révèle individuellement
Mais qu’il s’adresse aussi à son corps rassemblé?
N’est-ce pas Lui qui nous a invité à venir
Pour l’adorer en vérité et par l’Esprit
Et pour le servir avec joie?


Savons-nous qu’il voit notre peine
Et entend nos gémissements
Et qu’il vit dans les louanges de son peuple
Quand nous nous rassemblons en son nom
Et que nous lui permettons de nous purifier?
Quand nous élevons nos voix en louanges
Et adoration à sa majesté
N’enverra-t-il pas sa parole vivifiante
Pour nous rafraîchir, pour bander nos plaies
Et pour restaurer en nous la joie de son salut?


Savons-nous qu’il est venu pour libérer les captifs
Et que là ou se trouve l’Esprit la liberté est présente?
Ne brisera-t-il pas les entraves qui nous empêchent
De connaître pleinement les bienfaits de sa présence?


Savons-nous que sa grâce et miséricorde abondent?
Alors, croyons qu’il peut raviver dans nos coeurs
Notre premier amour pour Lui
Et guider nos pas sur le droit chemin.


Savons-nous qu’il nous invite à venir à Lui
Que l’heure du salut se trouve dans l’éternel présent?
Alors recevons-Le avec foi, confiance et obéissance
Et rentrons dans le cours d’eau coulant de son trône
Non seulement jusqu’à la cheville, ni jusqu’au genou,
Mais de tout coeur, plongeons dans la rivière de l’Esprit
Afin de devenir sains et entiers.


Savons-nous que seuls ceux qui se désaltèrent
à la fontaine d’eau vivifiante
Peuvent partager leur témoignage de la vie
que donne Jésus avec leur prochain?


Alors souvenons-nous de la samaritaine au puits de Sichar.
Avons-nous soif? Venons et buvons librement
L’eau de vie, don gratuit
Et Jésus satisfera notre soif jusqu’à en déborder.


Le 22 Décembre 2009.

Preparing the Way for Jesus' Second Coming

Written and published by Jean-Louis Mondon

Pass through, pass through the gates!
Prepare the way for the people.
Build up, Build up the highway!
Remove the stones.
Raise a banner for the nations.
The Lord has made proclamation
To the ends of the earth:
“Say to the Daughter of Zion,
See, your Savior comes!
See, His reward is with Him,
And His recompense accompanies Him".
Isaiah 62:10,11.

John the Baptist was sent to prepare the way of the Lord, the 1st advent, in the power of Elijah.

Now we Christians have to do our part to prepare the way of the Lord for His glorious appearing, the second advent. Matthew 3:3 declares: “It’s the voice of a man crying in the desert, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight paths for Him”. Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1. John the Baptist is the one who would prepare the way according to his father Zacharia´s prophecy in Luke 1:76-79 (NASB):

“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; For you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways; To give to His people the knowledge of salvation By the forgiveness of their sins, Because of the tender mercy of our God, With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us, To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Interestingly enough Elijah performed many miracles, but John performed none.

Ways to follow in John´s footsteps and prepare the way for the Lord’s second comingAs John was preaching repentance and heralding the first coming of Christ in the flesh, so the main work of the Church is to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus-Christ through words and deeds in preparation for His second Coming as King and Judge of all the earth.

Jesus said: “Among those born of women there is none greater than John, yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he". 

 

How is it possible? 

 

Here the Lord is making a direct connection with the attitude of John (He must increase, I must decrease) and the attitude that should be the distinct characteristic of the servant of God found in Philippians 2:5. 

 

In the eyes of the Savior, humility and faithfulness in announcing the Gospel of Salvation and knowing and obeying the Lord is more important than being perceived as a great spiritual leader by performing miracles, signs and wonders.

 

In chapter 13 of John, Jesus shows His disciples how to serve one another.
With the right attitude of a servant:

• Kneeling is a posture of humility, and readiness for service.
• Taking his clothes off  shows vulnerability (figuratively).
• Acceptance of others, whoever they may be (not acceptance of or participation in their sins or their sinful life style) 
Ex: Judas who was not a true believer was not sent away until before Jesus started the teaching on the Holy Spirit which can be shared only with true believers. He not only allowed Judas to partake of the last supper, but He also washed His feet.
• Focus on the work at hand: Jesus who knew that Judas was about to betray Him didn’t rebuke him and send him away. He was focused and refused to be distracted by His knowledge of the heart of man and the terrible next few days leading up to His death.

A little further down, Jesus tells His disciples: “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them” and elsewhere “it is more blessed to give than to receive”. It is wonderful to receive instructions from our Lord and to get the understanding from the Holy Spirit, but the blessing comes from applying the teaching of life and truth which results in bearing fruit.

Jesus’ teaching is not only about the spiritual side of life but also about practical preparation. The work of God is done on both levels. Luke 12: 42, 43 tells us that the faithful servant feeds the other workers their portion of food, at the right time. But before that, the table must be set, the floor cleaned, the chairs properly arranged. Is it not the duty of the deacons or the persons in charge in the church to make sure that everything is ready in order for the service to begin and for the pastor to feed the flock with the Word of God?

Old Testament examples of preparing the way for others
When Israel was in the desert, the Angel of the Lord went before the people preparing the way for them. The 12 spies were sent to the land before the Israelites were to go in. The 2 spies went to Jericho before the army marched around and defeated its inhabitants. David prepared the way for Solomon to build the temple by giving to him the instructions and the plans that the Lord had revealed to him.
The prophets prepared the way by proclaiming the word of the Lord before a battle or when instructing the people of Israel.

Examples found in the New Testament as well 
Jesus sent Peter and John to prepare the way for the Lord to have the Passover supper with His disciples. In Acts 19:9 the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and told him not to fear the Corinthians because He had many people in this city. He was preparing the way for Paul to preach, teach and plant churches. And even now the Lord Himself is preparing the way for us to meet Him one day soon and be with Him eternally. He is preparing us a new tabernacle to dwell in, a new glorified body fit for heaven.

Jesus said: “Do not let your heart be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me. In my Father’s kingdom there are many dwelling places, I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you with me that you also may be where I am”. What marvelous words of comfort from the very lips of our Lord and Savior!

The Holy Spirit was sent to us to reveal to us the Lord Jesus, His person, His works in us and through us. 

The people of Israel were to follow the presence of the Lord in the ark of the covenant. Now under the new covenant of the blood of Jesus, the Holy Spirit dwells in the believer guiding him, instructing him what to do, where to go, what to say and how to say it just as the Father did with His son Jesus while He was on this earth. 

We will know where to go and what to do because our Lord Jesus delights in revealing His will to His faithful servants who want to do His will and please Him in everything. Joshua 3:4-5 (NIV)
Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits between you and the ark; do not go near it.” Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”

The Lord has given His body various positions of leadership and various spiritual gifts to help us grow and do the works of service, but it is the responsibility of all the members to be diligent and not only serve others, but prepare the way so each of us might serve more effectively.

Ways in which we can prepare the way to help other people 

For example, a husband not only helps his wife by praying for her and with her, but also anticipates her needs, physical and emotional. He can relieve the burden of a hard day, by helping her with the household chores or taking care of the children. This is not only washing her feet and washing with the water of the word, but preparing the path on which she will walk more safely, surely and securely.

Let's remember that we are sheep and we follow, but also shepherds who go in front of whoever the Lord has given us to watch over and to prepare the way for them to follow the great and good Shepherd more closely. We can also warn the people of the many stumbling blocks and traps from the enemy, remove the stones, so to speak and make their paths smoother.

A neighbor can do the same by praying for a neighbor’s salvation and provides some help and fellowship in order to show them the love of Christ and witness to them and invite them to church.

All this can be done to prepare the way for the Lord coming. This is a way to help all parts of the body of Christ, our brothers and sisters to grow into the fullness that the Lord intended for us.

Someone helped us and prepared the way by showing us kindness and talking to us about the Lord Jesus and how to be saved. May each of us do the same and in this way fulfill the commands of our Lord to reproduce and produce good fruits for His kingdom and His glory.

In closing, here is a quote from the New Testament looking forward to the time in which the Lord will bring down the New Jerusalem from Heaven:

In Revelation, we find the same words of promise spoken in Isaiah by the Savior Himself:
“Behold, I am coming soon!
My reward is with me
And I will give to everyone
According to what he has done…
Blessed are those who wash their robes
That they may have the right to the tree of life
And go through the gates into the city”. Revelation 22:12,14.
Amen, Come Lord Jesus.  

                                          

                                            _________________________

Written and published by Jean-Louis Mondon November 2009. Revised February 2026.

 

COPYRIGHT NOTICE:  © [2026] [Jean-Louis Mondon] All Rights Reserved.