Devotion: Jesus Arrested
Please read Matthew 26:14-16
Since I learned several weeks ago that I would be writing about Judas, I have been thinking about him and his betrayal. After all, he is a guy who is remembered with disdain thousands of years later for making a very bad choice. His name is synonymous with someone who betrays a friend. Who wants to think about the one Jesus chose for the talents with money, but who, in the end, let his love of money destroy his relationship with a friend? Nobody names their child after Judas. Nobody holds Judas up as a model to look up to. Who even wants to think about a man who would betray a friend?
As I thought about Judas, the thought that kept returning to my mind is that while Judas betrayed Jesus “with a kiss” for thirty pieces of silver, I wonder if I’m really so different. How many times in a single day do I betray Jesus for something that I value? How many times do I choose comfort over Jesus? How many times do I spend time with a television show or hobby instead of spending time with Jesus? How many opportunities to share the love of Jesus do I miss? How often do I put my plans ahead of God’s plans and ask Him to make them come true? How often do I misuse my free will to speak unkindly about someone, to pass up opportunities to be the hands and feet of Jesus, to use the gifts God has given to me? The sad truth is that I do this all the time.
As we journey through Lent and consider our spiritual relationships and our faith, we probably all need to acknowledge that we are more like Judas than we would like to think we are. The good news, though, is that Jesus chose Judas, and He chooses us too, even with our flaws and weaknesses. He died for Judas and He died for us. As Jesus hung on the cross, God heaped all the sins of the world, past and present, onto Him and they died with him. Because of His death and resurrection, we know that when we confess our sins, we are forgiven. And because of the Holy Spirit within us, we know that we can do better.
Dearest Savior, thank you for choosing me even when I don’t choose you. Thanks for loving me even when I’m not loving others. Thank you for forgiving me even when I don’t forgive myself. Thank you for sending Your spirit to live within me. Please use these days in Lent to bring me closer to being the person You created me to be and to do Your good in the world. Amen
Written by Lori Snyder-Sloan
Lori Snyder-Sloan is a life-long child of God. In her past life she served in healthcare as an Infection Preventionist for CHI Health, and currently enjoys volunteering as a nurse and working part-time from home. She is the wife of Jon Sloan and the mother of married children in Florida and Oregon, a bonus-daughter in Germany and two pups at home. Her family is the highlight of her life, however she also enjoys raising plants, reading, crocheting, Bible study, time with friends, and cross-fit workouts.