July 29, 2024 Devo

July 29th, 2024

“It’s All About Jesus!”
Jesus and the Jewish Leaders (John 5:16-47)
“Your approval means nothing to me, because I know you don’t have God’s love within you.” – John 5:41-42 (NLT)
“The Approval of One”

Wow. What powerful words Jesus spoke in our passage today. “Your approval means nothing to me.” My guess is that many of us have allowed ourselves to be influenced in unhealthy ways by the approval of certain people around us. Some of us might even use the word, “enslaved.” Everyone wants to be liked, but sometimes we develop relationships with people whom we allow to define us or shape our behavior and attitudes—even when those behaviors and attitudes don’t align with whom we know God has called us to be.
I remember when I played basketball in high school. I wanted so badly to fit in with the other guys on the team that I started dressing like them, talking like them, and acting like them. Some of you can probably relate to that. Or maybe you began to compromise yourself to attract the attention of a certain guy or girl. Infatuation is a powerful motivator. For some of us, our need for approval may be from a parent or significant person whom we always wanted to make proud or impress. There are some of us who are middle-aged to older adults who are STILL driven by our need to make those people happy—even those in our lives who can’t be made happy by ANYTHING we do!
This is why Jesus is such a good model for us. He didn’t allow the applause of the crowds to control Him. He didn’t allow the approval of the Jewish leaders to control Him. He didn’t allow His disciples, His family, or ANYONE to have an unhealthy hold on Him. What He did, He did out of His love for them, not His NEED for them. He lived and led and taught for an audience of One. The only approval Jesus needed was from God. And He had it!
How about YOU? Who has an unhealthy hold on YOU? Who are you working hard to please? Who has a negative influence on the way you talk, how you act, or the attitudes you display? Be careful how much power you put in the hands of those around you. Don’t live for the crowd. Especially don’t allow yourself to be controlled or driven by people who don’t have the heart of God. At the end of your life, there will only be One Person’s opinion that will matter to you. Live for the approval of that One. That’s God’s Word for you today.