And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself
John 12:32
Whatever we are excited about, we lift up to others. We talk about our favorited sport team. We share about a movie that we liked, a book that we read, or an event that we found remarkable. In fact, social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and X make this abundantly easy for us to do. Many of us spend hours looking and watching what others have posted on these sites. And the content creators of these events ask us to "Lift Them Up" by liking, following and sharing. This is a normal part of our modern-day society.
In today's passage Jesus was sharing about His being lifted up. This isn't talking about a social media platform. He was talking about His crucifixion. Jesus shared about His purpose of coming to earth. John the Baptist called Him the "Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world". (John 1:29) He lifted up Jesus. That would have been a very clear picture of the Passover Lamb that was sacrificed for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus told His disciples over and over again about His upcoming death and resurrection so that they would have the faith, strength, and courage to change the world. (Mark 8: 31-33; Luke 9:21-22)
How did they change the world? They lifted up Jesus. They told everyone about His death, burial and resurrection! They shared Him and His power in their lives with multitudes and individuals. (Acts 2; Acts 8) When threatened with beatings and death, they simply said, "We cannot stop sharing what we have seen and heard." (Acts 4:2) They had seen and witnessed the greatest events ever! They had seen someone come back from the dead! They had been transformed!
God wants the same for us. If we have truly experienced the power of Christ in our lives, then we know the truth of Who He is. We who have experienced God's love in Christ have been transformed. We are now called to be ambassadors for Jesus. (2 Corinthians 5:17-21). This doesn't mean we need to go out on the street corner and pass our tracts unless God calls us to do that. What it does mean is that we continue to place Jesus before people with our attitudes, with our examples, and with our words. We don't have to know the Romans Road to salvation. We can all share this simple truth: This is who I was before Jesus. This is who I am now? And in between is Jesus. Simple as that. Lift Him Up.
Blessings to you!
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