The World Is Yours

Jesus' brothers said to him, "You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world." For even his own brothers did not believe in him.

Therefore Jesus told them, "The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil. You go to the Feast. I am not yet going up to this Feast, because for me the right time has not yet come." Having said this, he stayed in Galilee. – John 7:3-9

Today’s Reading: 1 Chronicles 13-15; John 7:1-27

Good gracious… Even his brothers were hating on him!

One thing that I noticed here is that Jesus worked on his time, not on anyone else’s time. His brothers try to bait him into going to Judea and perform miracles to prove that he was who he said he was.

But of course this wasn’t the real reason. They wanted him to go to Judea so that he could publicly fail or publicly succeed and give them the proof that they needed in order to believe.

They wanted him to go for their own selfish reasons, not for the greater good or to benefit their brother Jesus.

I come from a family full of advanced degrees. My dad is a nuclear engineer, my mom is a psychologist, my sister and several others are lawyers. I have many friends who are similarly educated as well. I am very proud of my friends and family and all of the things that they have accomplished.

But when it came time for me to graduate college I didn’t know what I wanted to do next. I saw many paths but none seemed right to me. So instead of jumping into grad school I decided to find a job. This was definitely scary because I always saw myself as someone who would do what the others around me had done. You finish high school, finish college, get an advanced degree and get PAID.

But that wasn’t the plan for me.

Since graduating school I have had many people tell me what I ought to do and for the most part it does seem to come from a place of love. But I am finally starting to realize the importance of owning my own path.

As well meaning as folks might be, me and God are the only people who have been with me from day one, and will be there until the last day.

If I allow myself to live life on other people’s terms then odds are I won’t be doing God’s or my will for my life.

That is a quick path to unhappiness.

So, yes, we should listen to our loved ones and mentors when they have advice for us; however, in the end we must remember that the decision is ours.

And for those that believe… holler at God too, I’m sure that He has the best advice of all and has the power to make it happen.

Do you… the world is yours.