“Going First”

Devotional for 2/25/11

“But God shows and clearly proves His (own) love for us

by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ

(the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us.

Romans 5:8~Amplifed Bible

If you are anything like me, then perhaps there have been times in your life when you have done more than your fair share of complaining. I will admit there have been times that I have even complained about things to the Lord. On one of these particular occasions, the Lord’s response left a very deep impression on me. This is what I would like to share with you today.

I am not sure now of what the exact circumstance was, but it went something like this. I and someone else were having differences. I believe that in my mind I thought that I was the one that just happened to be “right” in the situation. I remember feeling rather content in that belief, and I was more than convinced that the other person was the one that should come to me and attempt to make things right.

I can remember that I spoke to the Lord about all of this. I “presented” my case to Him, and I was more than confident that He would agree with my reasoning. You can imagine my surprise when He responded in the exact opposite way than I thought He would. Instead of agreeing with me that I should wait for the other person to make the first move in an attempt to reconcile the way things were between us, He actually asked me to take the first step. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing!

I had just gotten done explaining all of the circumstances to Him. He knew that I wasn’t the one who had made the error in behavior towards the other person. It was the other person who had made the error in behavior towards me! I hadn’t done anything wrong, I reminded Him. I had simply been the victim in this situation. Surely He didn’t really expect me to take the first step! That just wasn’t fair, I thought. I then proceeded to tell the Lord so.

What I heard inside of my heart were words that I would never have expected. I heard the Lord say to me, “I went first”. Those words literally startled me. I was shocked as I began to realize that the Lord was speaking about His going to the cross. In an instant I realized exactly what He meant. He had gone to the Cross for us, while we were yet sinners. He had not waited for us to approach Him. He had taken that long and painful journey before we were even aware that we would need Him. He gave up His life, willingly, before we ever chose to love Him, to follow Him, or to serve Him.

He had taken the first step, and by doing so, He had made possible the most important reconciliation of our lives. His “going first” had allowed us to reconcile with God. There was no other way that this could have taken place, and I cannot find any place in the Bible where it says that Jesus complained about what was being asked of Him.

I was silent, and more than deeply humbled. This realization seemed to change my whole attitude. If Jesus, my precious Lord and Savior, had accomplished so much by being the One to take the first step for us… then perhaps there would be something of value that could be accomplished by my going first, also. Suddenly the whole situation seemed to take on a complete different meaning for me.

Jesus is our example in this life. If ever there is a time when we don’t know which direction or action to take, we can safely look at His life and find our answer in the way in which He walked out His own life. He is the only One who ever walked out this life perfectly. What He did for us then, continues to save us, lead us, and heal us today.

I quickly and quietly asked the Lord to forgive me for my selfish way of thinking. I thanked Him for being so gentle and kind to me in the way in which He shows me things. I thanked Him again for “going first” and making a way for us to reconcile again with His Father, and our God. In ending, I asked Him to continue to make my heart more like His.

There are times in my life in which the same question will form on my lips, or in my mind. The question of “Why do I always have to be the one to go first?” It will not take me very long to remember the Lord’s response to me. It is almost immediate. I wish that I could say that my heart and mind don’t even ask the question anymore, but that would not be true. The truth is that I do. The difference is that after recalling the Lord’s response to me on that day, that now I am able to look at things differently. Because of this, I am then able to think things through with a whole different mindset, and hopefully, make a much better decision on how to proceed in the given situation.

I am so thankful that the Lord gives us wisdom. I am so aware that if He ever left me alone, the selfishness and self centeredness of my mind and my heart would certainly ruin me. I need to be reminded always of His goodness, His gentleness, and His humility. I need to be reminded always of His never ending love for me. I need to be reminded always of His favor towards me, and of His great ability to be so patient and so kind to me. I need to be reminded always of His selflessness and of His overwhelming and incomparable sacrifice, not only for me, but also for you.

It is my hope that in sharing this with you today, that perhaps you, also, will respond to the situation of “going first” in a different way. Thank you, Lord, for challenging us to take on a different mindset than the one that we have become accustomed to. Please continue to help us to grow in the area of relationships, specifically in the way in which we love and treat one another. Above all, thank you again for your sacrifice, and help us always, to become more and more like you. Amen.

 

Written by Beverley A. Napier