Not Invited to Your Own Party

I don't know what tough is. I really don't. I think I do sometimes. I believe that my life has gotten incredibly difficult, hard to navigate, too much to think about clearly. I convince myself that I'm at the end of my rope. Then I go and read something like John 7:1-13. Jesus is home, hanging out around His hometown. It's time to head for Jerusalem, so that all of the good Jews can take part in a religious celebration. But Jesus is unable to go, because there are leaders in the city who want to kill Him. I mean, step out of our "read that a hundred times" mindset, and really consider that. He can not go to Jerusalem, because people want to kill Him. I can not say that I have ticked anyone off to that level. At least not yet.

So what do His brothers do? They act like jerks, because they don't believe Him. It says in another story that they think He's insane. I'm not sure, but it sounds like they're making fun of Him in verses 3-5. Now, these are His younger brothers, His little brothers, giving Him grief. That is never cool, whether you're Jesus or anyone else.

Then, once everyone has gone, having a party, celebrating God, celebrating Jesus without knowing it, Jesus hangs out alone. When He finally goes to a celebration that is actually for Him, He has to go undercover. He has to sneak in to His own party. Once He gets there, He hears people arguing about who He is, and blasting His character.

And this is just one snapshot, of one short time frame in His life. How can I ever complain about what I'm facing? I've gotta get tougher if I'm gonna be like Jesus, that's for sure.