Wednesday, May 1st, 2019

Political campaigns, which we all are seeing in full swing these days, are a long string of espousing opinions, taking sides, and making arguments for or against certain issues. There is tremendous pressure on these candidates to take sides and in those situations, it can be easy to lose their principles in favor of popular opinion. But political candidates are not the only ones who face these pressures – we all do. Jesus faced them as well in his day. The pressure to be everything to everyone grows everyday in our society and causes many to lose themselves. So how do we resist this pressure? Look to what Jesus said to the religious leaders who questioned him, saying, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.” Jesus resisted the temptation to be everything to everyone by focusing first on who he was – the Son of God. When we remember that we represent our Father in all we do, our decisions in life become clearer. Today, if you are facing pressure to be what you are not, remember who you represent and then make your decisions.

“Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.” – John 5:19 NIV