This is what is going on...can't you see that unless something is done...
This is why I deserve help....
Remember when I did such and such for you? You owe me.....
There are a lot of different ways to try to elicit aid. Some work better than others, depending on the situation and cause and people involved. But none of these tactics are how we are to take our needs, cares and concerns to God. It may feel natural to do so, after all, we are going into a spiritual throne room to make our petition to the King, and not just any king but THE KING of kings. Don't we need to justify bending His ear and taking up His time with our petty problems? Don't we need to show Him that we've earned the attention, loved well enough to get some aid as reward, been a good servant or promise to be a better servant in the future? Don't we need to make it clear that we understand that the situation could always be worse, and there are people worse off but we feel it's still important enough to deserve His attention because......Um, no. That's not how we go before the King. We don't have to work Him or bargain with Him or manipulate Him or earn His help or.....
Jesus is the demonstration of the heart of the Father in the flesh. The Father. Daddy. We belong to Him. We have become His children. Yes, He is King, and for those who are not His, no bargaining or manipulation or performance or virtue will be enough. The only thing that moves the King is a cry for mercy and a desire to become His. To those He always responds with acceptance. But we are no longer in that group that doesn't belong to Him and needs to become His. We are His children. We are princes and princesses of the Lord of lords, and we don't have to follow some courtly protocols and bow and scrape our way from the gates to before His throne. We can run in and climb in His lap. The King is also Daddy, and He loves us.
The life of Jesus showed the better way to approach and ask for help. Three siblings, two girls and a guy, all had relationship with Jesus. They were friends, followers, disciples. They had hosted His ministry, fed Him, visited with Him. They were not strangers who would ever stand at the edge of the crowd crying out Jesus, Son of David, Have mercy on me. No, they weren't strangers, subjects or outsiders. Lazarus, that was the guy's name (his story can be found in John 11), got sick, as in he was dying sick. So his sisters, Martha and Mary, sent word to Jesus trying to get help from the only One who had the power to help them in their time of desperation. So what case did they make to the Lord? How did they show that Lazarus should be helped and was worthy of the time and attention of the Master?
Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”
- John 11:3
No balance sheet, no business plan showing how well Lazarus could be of future use to the ministry, no see how many times we've fed and housed you?, no any of that. Just Jesus, we know You love Him, and he needs Your help. They expected help because they knew the love was there. And they received help, not the way or the when they wanted, but they got what they needed in a way that brought glory to God.
John called himself the disciple that Jesus loved. Some have tried to say that means John was the favorite disciple. I won't say that, but I will say that John felt like a favorite, he felt special to Jesus. I have a feeling some of the others felt the same way. It's not a bad thing. It's an important thing. In fact our spiritual life and relationship hinges on that understanding. I am special to Jesus. I am a friend of God. I am the man whom Jesus loves. And that means I matter to Him. What I am going through, what I am facing, what I am afraid of all matter. It means He cares about me, and I don't have to manipulate or coerce His help. I only need to ask and He will be quick to help, because He is a best friend closer than a brother, and He is a brother, and because He loves me.
And that's the most awesome thing in the world and something so important for me to remember when I start feeling my issues aren't important enough, or I'm not worthy enough to go to the King. And the amazing thing for you is that you are just as special and important to Him. You are one of His favorites. You are the disciple that Jesus loves. Take you trivia and your Titanic to Him. He wants you to remember you are no longer only a servant. You are His friend, and He loves you.
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