Only Jesus Does All Things Well

Only Jesus Does All Things Well

Let’s clear away the silly argument first, before we get to something more practical. In the Middle Ages, theological nerds argued whether God could create a rock to heavy for Himself to pick up. So if you want to argue whether, since Jesus does all things well, He can also sins well, go someplace else.

Jesus’ relationship with the Father was and is without the slightest friction. Can you imagine being married for even one year without an argument; without hurt feelings; without misunderstanding and incidents of selfishness. Throughout eternity, the Father and the Son are always on the same page, singing the same note in perfect pitch.

Jesus saves well. His forgiveness covers all our sins, not just some. His atonement provides forgiveness for the sins we know about, and the ones we don’t. I suspect there are even more sins of the latter kind than the former. He saves so that we don’t wander in and out of salvation. His promises stand.

But my point with the title above, “Only Jesus does all things well,” is that only Jesus does, and we don’t. None of us does all things well. You may do some things extremely well, but not all things. We find ourselves regularly disappointed in ourselves. We may feel like failures. We may consider giving up. Why? Because we have not agreed with the fact that only Jesus does all things well. Nobody else, including you, comes close.

We are imperfect people doing imperfect things, and though aided by the gifts of God and the help of the Spirit (the first provided by God widely, and the second given from Christ to those who are “in Christ”), we still fall short. How are we to respond?

First, we should look up, not down. We should look to our Father in heaven, and to our wonderful, merciful Savior. We learned as children, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” He loves us, knowing full well that we indeed do not do all things well. But He loves us anyway. We should be assured that our Father does not love us more on our best days than He does on our worst. This is where we start.

But also, we should not turn on ourselves and castigate ourselves. We are but humans, finite and frail. And worse, we are sinful humans who have a bent toward self and sin. The wonder of the Gospel is that Jesus came to save sinners, and God justifies the ungodly. We fit the bill, and we are saved and justified by faith in Him. So don’t go trashing what God has saved and justified.

But we must be truthful in examining ourselves. Did we fail because we are human, or because we were lazy, or selfish, or spiteful? Did we prepare properly, or did we skip the preparation and then perform poorly? Did we choose the nice and comfortable path rather than doing the right thing, or the hard thing, or the most important thing? In all these questions and more, we should be willing to be brutally honest with ourselves or with the critiques from others. We can always improve and do better.

Over time, we learn about our strengths and weaknesses. We all have them, both strengths and weaknesses. We seek to maximize our strengths, without pride (and that is more difficult than it sounds). And, we seek to manage our weaknesses, by learning and practicing skills that help us compensate, or leaning hard on others who can help in those areas.

But more important: we pray. We pray about the use of our strengths, and about the help we need for our weaknesses. We pray intently and regularly. We pray to the only Person who does all things well. And one of the things He does well is to help persons just like me, and just like you.

Jesus Strong and Kind

Jesus Strong and Kind

Everybody has heard of Jesus. Not everyone is taken with Him. I remember counseling a young couple who were caught in a pattern of being mean to one another, really mean. The young woman, who I barely knew, said of the young man, with whom I had some familiarity: “No offense, pastor, but he doesn’t need Jesus. What he needs is a pill.” I would still maintain that, while people may at times need pills, what we all really need most is Jesus.

In the title above, the song speaks of Jesus who has contrasting qualities which are not in conflict with one another, and yet He is able to demonstrate both fully. Jesus, as we know Him from the Gospels, stands firm; teaches unflinchingly; endures criticism and false accusation; perseveres with grace under the pressure of the crowds, and puts His relationship with the Father over things like sleep and food. He is strong.

Jesus is also kind and tender with those who are weak and afflicted. He sympathizes. He helps and He heals. While Jesus is strong, He is also kind.

Imagine with me for a moment if Jesus had been the opposite: not strong and kind, but weak and cruel. We know people like that. We call them bullies. They use bluster and threats to hide their own weaknesses. And if Jesus had been like that, He would not have been worthy of following. But there is so much more.

Jesus is always on time with a word, a question, a rebuke, a story or illustration. He knows men and women so well, better than they know themselves, that He can put His finger on the issue immediately. If someone asks me a tough question, I usually say, “Let me think about it.” Or we review a conversation in our heads, and think, “I wish I would have said this,” or worse, “I shouldn’t have said that.” Jesus is able to answer on time, and perfectly, because He already understands us completely.

Jesus is good with both individuals and crowds. With individuals, he focuses attention and probes and leads them along in their thinking without making a decision for them. He allowed the rich, young ruler to walk away, and also Nicodemus. At least one of them returned. And then with the crowds, Jesus speaks to the masses so that they all understand. He gives clear instructions and makes sharp distinctions. He illustrates from nature and makes comparisons that even children can follow. 

One thought that I appreciate most is that, whether with individuals or crowds, it never becomes just about Himself. As with the blind man or Zacchaeus, no one is too unimportant or unpopular for His attention. He is truly interested in the lowliest of people. And with the crowds, His ego never gets in the way. He doesn’t appear to be impressed with Himself. He doesn’t brag about the numbers or market His miracles. 

He is just Jesus, the Son of Man who lived the life here that we were all meant to live until sin entered the world and entered me and you and made us bent and crooked. But Jesus is just; He is truth; He is kind; He is the most interesting Person who ever walked this planet, and worthy of our attention and worship. 

So let’s start paying more attention to Jesus than to presidential candidates and basketball players.