John 8:48-59 The great I AM, Conclusion

Yesterday we were studying Jesus' claim that He was the great I AM, and what that meant in our lives. That it was more important than His being a friend, or a comforter.

  Imagine that the distance between the earth and the sun, 93 million miles, was just the thickness of a single piece of paper.  That would mean that the diameter of our galaxy would be a stack of paper 310 miles high.  But that giant stack of papers would be like just a piece of lint when set beside the whole universe which is filled with more galaxies than there are grains of sand on the seashore.  The scope of the universe is grander than we can ever begin to imagine.

Now consider that the scriptures claim that Jesus Christ created every last atom in this seemingly endless universe and that it is only in him that it all is held together.  Christ holds the universe together with his pinky finger, with simply a word from his lips.  Speaking about Jesus, Colossians 1 says, “By him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.  He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." (Tim Keller)

Wow.
That puts it in perspective, doesn't it?
Is this the person that you are going to ask into your life to be your assistant? Your co-pilot?
Is this person someone to whom you will say, "I'll let You know when I need You?"
Are we going to relegate Jesus to the edges of our lives, and handle the "big stuff" ourselves?
Are we going to question His commands? Will we accept His teachings that we like, and ignore the ones that we don't like?
If Jesus is really who He claimed to be here in this passage, if He is the eternal I AM, then He is the same one Who created that vast universe. He is the One Who controls it. He is the One Who keeps our hearts beating, too.
All we can do in the face of this power, majesty, authority and love is to offer Him our complete, undivided devotion.
It seems as if we have walked this path before, doesn't it? Earlier in the gospel of John, we have seen where either John or Jesus told us that Jesus is God. He has always existed; He is eternal; and He is the compassionate ruler of this universe that He created.
As we noted yesterday, we can be like the crowds that day. We like Jesus. We like to hear what He has said. We value the fact that He is our friend. We're hopeful that somewhere along the line, He might do good things for us, and we really want to be counted among those who follow Him. We have no problem giving Him some of our time, and some of our attention. We'll even give Him some of our wealth, and follow His path sometimes. But then when He claims His rightful place as Lord of our lives, we think to ourselves that He is being greedy and demanding.
And we don't like that.
Our flesh is weak.
We need to ask ourselves if Jesus is our Master? If we have truly submitted to His Lordship in our lives? We need to be ready and willing to say, "There are no limits to my allegiance to Him." Remember the old hymn that says "wherever He leads, I'll go"?
We need to:
Go wherever He goes.
Do whatever He does.
Say whatever He says.
Give away whatever He gives away.
Love whomever He loves.
Jesus doesn't want a part of our lives. He is either our Master or our enemy. There really isn't any space in between.  (Matthew 6:24)
But here is the good news: if we trust Him, bowing in faith before Jesus Christ as the eternal, all-powerful, all-knowing, loving and merciful Ruler of the universe, we will find that what He gives us in return is life.
More abundant.
Never ending.
"Whoever keeps my word will never see death."

¹¹ And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. ¹² Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
¹³ I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. (I John 5:11-13)