Making God Behave

Posted by Dion Todd March 19th, 2017 8,535 Views 0 Comments

Then he poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. Then he came to Simon Peter. He said to him, 'Lord, do you wash my feet?' Jesus answered him, 'You don't know what I am doing now, but you will understand later.' Peter said to him, 'You will never wash my feet!' John 13:5 WEB

It had been over three years since Jesus had called them His disciples. The twelve of them had traveled together, ministered together, ate together, and saw miracle after miracle while following Jesus. The night that Jesus was betrayed, He poured water, took a towel and washed the feet of His disciples. When it became Peter's turn, Peter said 'You shall never wash my feet!'

Peter tended to correct Jesus when He broke out of the mold that he had envisioned. In Matthew 16:22, Peter rebuked Jesus for saying that He would be crucified. In Mark 14:29 they disagreed and Peter said: 'If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!' but then he denied Him. In John 4:27 the disciples marveled when Jesus talked with the Samaritan woman. In Luke 8:25 they marveled saying: 'Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!'

See Peter meant well, but sometimes it was his flesh speaking, and not the Holy Spirit. The disciples knew Jesus very well, but they were always surprised by His actions because Jesus did not always act as they thought He should. Making God behave was a constant problem for the religious pharisees and scribes as well. They seemed to have irreconcilable differences.

Paul wrote this in 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21: 'Don't quench the Spirit. Don't despise prophecies. Test all things, and hold firmly that which is good.' I have attended churches that lived the exact opposite of that verse. We are made in the likeness of God, in His image. Yet sometimes we want Him to be behave like He was made in ours. We try to put limits on what He can do and want to place God the Almighty inside of a box and make Him behave like we want.

Leave room for God to be God. No one walked on water until someone did (Matthew 14:29). Donkeys didn't talk to people, until one did (Numbers 22:28). To think that 'My Lord would never do that!' is believing that God was made in your image, instead of you being made in His. To believe that God has to be like you is the ultimate form of pride. God is full of surprises, and the Bible is full of Him surprising people just like us.

Prayer: Heavenly Father please keep me aware of Your Awesomeness. You are the Almighty, incredibly awesome God, the Creator of heaven and earth, and the Maker of mankind. Let me never forget this, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray.