“You don’t get in my face, Poppy,” said Amelia. “I have a runny nose.” We had just stood to join in the congregational hymns and when I hoisted Amelia to my hip, she saw my husband coming down the aisle to take his seat next to me. She immediately lunged for him and as he leaned in to kiss her cheek, this was the greeting he received. I can imagine her mom and dad telling her without much success not to get in baby Ezra’s face for that very reason. Practicing what you preach requires a maturity she still lacks at two and a half, and the old saying is proved true once again. You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink. Potty training, sleeping all night in her own bed, staying in her seat for the duration of an already hurried meal. Examples abound!
No one likes to be told what to do. We all bristle at being given an order. Human nature rears its ugly head attempting to overpower even the fruit of God’s Spirit in the staunchest of believers. Being compelled to do anything flies in the face of our personal freedom, or inalienable rights, and almost always has a negative connotation. My mind immediately goes to things like jury duty and taxes. In Jesus’s day, a Roman soldier could force anyone in conquered territories to carry his gear along the road for one mile. We learn this from Jesus’s teaching in His Sermon on the Mount.
““You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’
But I say, do not resist an evil person!
If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also.
If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too.
If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles.
Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.”
Matthew 5:38-42 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/mat.5.38-42.NLT
I wonder if Simon and his sons were present at this moment? Had they heard Jesus teaching and followed Him or were they just at the wrong place at the wrong time when Jesus was led away to be crucified?
“When they finished ridiculing him, they took off the purple robe, put his own clothes back on him, and led him away to be crucified.
As they came out of the city, they stopped an African man named Simon, a native of Libya.
He was passing by, just coming in from the countryside with his two sons, Alexander and Rufus, and the soldiers forced him to carry the heavy crossbeam for Jesus.
They brought Jesus to the execution site called Golgotha, which means “Skull Hill.””
Mark 15:20-22 TPT
https://bible.com/bible/1849/mrk.15.20-22.TPT
Did Jesus foresee these events when “he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.”
Luke 9:23 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/luk.9.23.NLT
“Him they compelled to bear His cross.”
Matthew 27:32 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/mat.27.32.NKJV
My mother heart aches at the thought of this father being torn away from His two boys, manhandled by heartless soldiers who had the audacity to spit in the face of my Lord, now humiliated and separated. If they were young, who took them into custody, eventually reuniting them with their father? Who shielded their eyes from the brutality of the cross? Perhaps they were old enough to make some sense of what was happening. Perhaps even this was God working out His perfect plan for their lives.
But there is another kind of compulsion that is far more common in our day and age. It also tends toward the negative. The compelling force is from within, driving a person to self destruction.
“As Jesus stepped ashore, a demon-possessed madman came out of the graveyard and confronted him.
The man had been living there among the tombs, and no one was able to restrain him, not even with chains.
For every time they attempted to chain his hands and feet with shackles, he would snap the chains and break the shackles in pieces.
He was so strong that no one had the power to subdue him. Day and night he could be found lurking in the cemetery or in the vicinity, shrieking and cutting himself with stones!
When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran to him and threw himself down before him, shouting at the top of his lungs, “Leave me alone, Jesus, Son of the Most High God!
Swear in God’s name that you won’t torture me!” (For Jesus had already said to him, “Come out of that man, you demon spirit!”)
Jesus said to him, “What is your name?”
“Mob,” he answered. “They call me Mob because there are thousands of us in his body!””
Mark 5:2-9 TPT
https://bible.com/bible/1849/mrk.5.9.TPT
Left to ourselves, unrepentant and empty, we seek as Solomon did to fill ourselves, our time, our minds, and our hearts with whatever lessens the ache of the void within our souls. The wisest and arguably the wealthiest, most powerful king in history spared no expense toward his pursuit of happiness. Ecclesiastes chronicles his exploits and his conclusions. He seems to resign himself to hopeless acceptance that since he cannot get around God’s sovereignty to his own satisfaction, he will make the most of his days, saying, “That’s the whole story.
Here now is my final conclusion:
Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.”
Ecclesiastes 12:13 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/ecc.12.13.NLT
““Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”
What do people get for all their hard work under the sun?
Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes.
The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again.
The wind blows south, and then turns north.
Around and around it goes, blowing in circles.
Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full.
Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea.
Everything is wearisome beyond description.
No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied.
No matter how much we hear, we are not content.
History merely repeats itself.
It has all been done before.
Nothing under the sun is truly new.
Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new.
We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now.”
Ecclesiastes 1:2-11 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/ecc.1.2-11.NLT
Did God create us male and female and place us on the earth for a meaningless existence? Is religious duty what we must resign ourselves to if we choose to call ourselves Christian? Why would this be appealing to anyone? Jesus offered freedom, not from Rome but from the power of sin and death. He promises to be present with us, God’s children, His coheirs to the end of the age, and He said He is preparing a place for those who receive Him, believing in His name, and that He will return and all things will be made new. These are not empty promises and they are not for the future only. They were secured at the cross, and the gift of His Spirit is His deposit guaranteeing He will give us the inheritance He promised. (Ephesians 1:14)
“Jesus said to those who believed in him, “When you continue to embrace all that I teach, you prove that you are my true followers.
For if you embrace the truth, it will release true freedom into your lives.”
Surprised by this, they said, “But we’re the descendants of Abraham and we’re already free. We’ve never been in bondage to anyone. How could you say that we will be released into more freedom?”
“I speak eternal truth,” Jesus said.
“When you sin you are not free.
You’ve become a slave in bondage to your sin.
So if the Son sets you free from sin, then become a true son and be unquestionably free!
I speak to you this eternal truth: whoever cherishes my words and keeps them will never experience death.””
John 8:31-34, 36, 51 TPT
https://bible.com/bible/1849/jhn.8.31-51.TPT
“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.
And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”
2 Corinthians 5:14-15 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/2co.5.14-15.NIV
“For it is Christ’s love that fuels our passion and holds us tightly, because we are convinced that he has given his life for all of us.
This means all died with him, so that those who live should no longer live self-absorbed lives but lives that are poured out for him—the one who died for us and now lives again.”
2 Corinthians 5:14-15 TPT
https://bible.com/bible/1849/2co.5.14-15.TPT
If these thoughts are compelling, how do you better understand Christ’s great commission now? (Matthew 28:18-20)
“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
2 Corinthians 9:7 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/2co.9.7.NIV
“Let giving flow from your heart, not from a sense of religious duty.
Let it spring up freely from the joy of giving—all because God loves hilarious generosity!”
2 Corinthians 9:7 TPT
https://bible.com/bible/1849/2co.9.7.TPT
“As he rode along, the crowds spread out their garments on the road ahead of him.
“Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven, and glory in highest heaven!”
But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, “Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!”
He replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!””
Luke 19:36, 38-40 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/luk.19.40.NLT
“The authority of the name of Jesus causes every knee to bow in reverence!
Everything and everyone will one day submit to this name—in the heavenly realm, in the earthly realm, and in the demonic realm.
And every tongue will proclaim in every language:
“Jesus Christ is Lord Yahweh,” bringing glory and honor to God, his Father!”
Philippians 2:10-11 TPT
https://bible.com/bible/1849/php.2.10-11.TPT
“Yet preaching the Good News is not something I can boast about.
I am compelled by God to do it.
How terrible for me if I didn’t preach the Good News!”
1 Corinthians 9:16 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/1co.9.16.NLT
What is your driving force? What compels you day to day? From the time you wake until you close your eyes to dream, what keeps you going? What gives your life meaning and purpose? Do you open your eyes with a sense of excitement, anxious to know what the day might bring or do you drag yourself out of bed with dread hanging over you like a storm cloud? When you climb into bed is it with gratitude for the provision of daily bread and a body spent, welcoming rest? Or do you toss and turn, ever on your devices, seeking sleep and peace that will not come?
“Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you.
Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.””
Matthew 11:28-30 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/mat.11.28-30.NLT
Jesus’s offer stands but time is short. The enemy of our souls knows this. He prowls about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour because of this knowledge. (I Peter 5:8)
“This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out.
Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here.
So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living.”
Romans 13:11-12 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/rom.13.11-12.NLT
I pray for boldness to continue speaking the truth in love, to share the good news of Jesus as one once perpetually hungry and thirsty who now has Living Water and the Bread of Life. May my senses never be dulled, my feet merely marking time while my mind wanders aimlessly. Will you join me in this triumphal procession led by Christ, allowing God to use us to spread the knowledge of Him everywhere? (II Corinthians 2:14)
“Then they brought the apostles before the high council, where the high priest confronted them.
“We gave you strict orders never again to teach in this man’s name!” he said.
“Instead, you have filled all Jerusalem with your teaching about him, and you want to make us responsible for his death!”
But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority.”
And every day, in the Temple and from house to house, they continued to teach and preach this message:
“Jesus is the Messiah.””
Acts of the Apostles 5:27-29, 42 NLT
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