Moving Forward
By Lisa Boyer
“He meant Judas, the
son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the twelve, was later to betray Him.”
John
6:71 (NIV)
I had been hurt. I had forgiven. I had moved
on.
But then God began making it clear that moving
on was not what He had wanted me to do. I wasn’t supposed to move on from the
relationship; I was supposed to move forward in the
relationship. But I didn’t want to move forward. If I remained in the
relationship, I’d possibly be hurt again.
I wanted to tell God that He just didn’t
understand; but then I remembered Judas… a disciple of Jesus… a friend of
Jesus… the betrayer of Jesus.
Jesus knew He was going to die on a cross for
us and He knew that Judas would betray Him. Yet, Jesus gave Judas authority
over evil spirits and power to heal sick. Jesus spent three years with Judas;
all those months, all those days, all those hours, all those minutes, all the
while knowing what the future held: betrayal.
In my situation, I couldn’t possibly know the
future so I didn’t know whether I would be hurt again or not, but I didn’t even
want to take a chance. And even if I were hurt again, it
couldn’t compare to what Jesus experienced with Judas.
How did Jesus live like that? How could I live
like that?
The Bible says in Romans 5:8, “But God
demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners Christ
died for us.” (NIV) He loves us while we are still in our sin. He loved Judas
while he was still in his sin.
I pictured Jesus and His disciples sitting
around the campfire talking, laughing, cooking fish, and enjoying each other’s
company. And I could see Jesus looking over at Judas and loving him; knowing
what the future held and loving him anyway.
We, too, can love because of His love. “We
love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). And I know this because, well… I
started writing this devotional in September 2010 and discovered it today,
still unfinished. The whole time I’ve been finishing it, I’ve been
wondering what relationship was this about?
That is an amazing testimony of the power of
God’s love and grace!!! Not only is the hurt gone, but I don’t even remember
who hurt me. And more importantly, I haven’t moved on from any relationships…so
I know that I moved forward.
GOING DEEPER:
1. Are you struggling with a desire
to move on from a relationship God wants you to move forward in? Today, will
you make a decision to move forward by God’s grace?
FURTHER READING:
Lisa
has been married to Ted for over 20 years and they have two teenage sons. Lisa
administers Fresh Start’s Facebook and blog and serves in Quest 56 on Sunday
mornings at Oakwood.
