January 14
‘I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance’. Luke 5:32
Bible reading: Isaiah 42:1-7 (Go to the Bible passage)
In this impressive prophecy about the Servant of the Lord, Jesus’ being is so wonderfully rendered, ‘He will not cry or lift up His voice, or make it heard in the street’.
Here we see Jesus, quietly going through the Holy Land, doing well and bringing peace, with a gentle and humble heart.
Where do we find people filled with this Spirit? Whoever wants to establish a sound organization, generally seeks to fill the main positions with leaders who have proved their achievements in society. Even in Christian organizations, applicants are judged on the basis of characteristics and abilities with which they were born.
Jesus did not establish an organization here on earth, but He created a new organism: His Church. And to build this organism, He did not choose the noble by our standards. On the contrary: ‘Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong’ (1 Corinthians 1:26,27).
And in this He gave clear evidence that His Church is for, but not of this world. He Himself is the Head, meek and lowly of heart, but unassailable and invincible until He had accomplished His task on earth (:4). Not only is He like this, but His church is too. Everything lacking these characteristics - longing to be more or better - is alien to the reality of His Church and therefore no different to a worldly organization. Those people who seek to satisfy their religious feelings will be impressed by this, but whoever seeks deliverance only finds it where the Spirit of Jesus binds people together.

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