Just in case you were wondering who I AM

But Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth. The Son can do nothing alone. The Son does only what He sees his Father doing. The Son does the same things that the Father does. The Father loves the Son, and the Father shows the Son all the things He does.  But the Father will show the Son greater things than this to do. Then you will all be amazed." John 5: 19-20

So Jesus answers the guys who wanted to kill Him, this is what is True.  This is what I am about.  How did He live, that I might live?

He depended completely on the Father.  Totally and completely.  He states upfront that He can do nothing alone.  This indeed is a core understanding that I step off of daily, attempting hither and thither on my own.  But Jesus, the one in whom and through whom all things were made, was dependent.

He noticed.  He looked around Him and clearly saw what was true, unblinded by the god of this world.  He saw the greatness of God and His faithfulness, and started off each conversation with “hallowed be Thy name.”  In awe and gratitude of what was around Him, even if it seemed grubby, uncomfortable or downright painful.  Not looking at the circumstances, His eyes were fixed on He would holds the circumstances in His hands.  Even more so, He saw into the heart of man, with tenderness and grace, undistracted by outward appearances.  

He obeyed.  Step by watchful step, He followed the footprints left by His Father.  Sort of like the people of Israel and the pillars of cloud and fire.  It moved, they moved.  It paused, they paused.  The presence of the LORD enveloped them, because they stuck so close.

He accepts God’s love.  It is a given and at the core of who He is.  He is loved by the Father.  Straight up, no qualifiers or hedging. It’s what the Father does.  It’s not me; it’s Him.  I simply hold open my arms and cry, “Abba.”

And the adventure continues.  Life is a glorious gift, ever shifting, growing, and even more wonderful than the human mind can comprehend.  It is not a stagnant pool with sniffs of putrified rituals and Shall nots.  It is further up and farther in.  We will be amazed.