Lessons from Judas

Have you ever had one of those days when you feel like God is speaking to you and revealing things to you all day long? Well, I had one of those on Sunday, and it wasn't just me. My husband did too. He was out of town so he texted me and asked me to call him as soon as I could. He shared his revelations and then the rest of the day, I had one after another.

It started when I watched The Last Supper Superbook movie. I was afraid I'd barely have time to get in the word with three kids, three goats and 20 chickens needing my attention so I just asked God to show me something in the Superbook movie I put on for the kids while I was feeding my newborn. And, as promised, God showed up. He always shows up when He's invited.

He started by showing me that He knew that Judas would be a thief. I had just never given it too much thought, but Jesus, when he put Judas in the position of keeper of the purse, knew that Judas would steal it and be dishonest... and He still gave him that responsibility! Why? Well, I don't presume to know Jesus' mind on this one, but here are the reasons I was able to come up with.

1. Money doesn't matter to Him. God is our provider and while money can sometimes be used to do the job of purchasing food, shelter and giving to the poor, ultimately, to God, money is really not important. Therefore, it ought not be very important to us either. We should never live in fear of being robbed or having things or money stolen from us. God will provide. While we shouldn't be irresponsible with money and our things because God has made us stewards of these things, we also should not live in fear, and in fear push people away because we're afraid they might steal from us. God can protect us and provide for us. We just need to trust Him.
2. He wanted to give Judas a chance. Granted Jesus knew the outcome all along, but even when He knows we'll be dishonest and unfaithful, He will still give us a chance. It's always us walking away from His seeking us out, from the countless chances He gives us. He always gives us chances - and lots of them!
3. This point was harder for me to get at, but having been raised in the church, I just knew I could come up with a third point to this "sermon." Jesus could have caught him earlier on. He could have called attention to Judas' crime earlier, although certainly it would have changed the most important story in history in one way or another, but he could have removed this responsibility from him, even discreetly. Yet, he didn't. Instead, he allowed sin to run its course and God to remove him from the disciples in another way. What we can learned from this is that sometimes we should intervene and take matters into our own hands to stop sin, and other times, we ought to let God take over and handle it in the way He sees fit.