David Bahn – Reflections

John 7:14-24

About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. ¹⁵ The Jews thereforemarveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?” ¹⁶ So Jesus answered them,“My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. ¹⁷ If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. ¹⁸ The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.

I can recall one time when I truly had to fake it: I used a strong bravado to ward off a dangerous situation. I can still recall the feeling of adrenaline being pumped into my system and the relief that the bravado worked. Diane and I were taking a walk and toward the end of our trek a dog made a run at us. Thankfully she saw it coming – from behind! – and told me the dog was coming. It was on a run, heading straight for us. We had nothing with which to defend ourselves, and the dog looked pretty mean and intense. I turned around toward the dog, summoned all the courage, strength, inner verve I could muster and roared in defiance toward the charging dog. That was the bravado I mustered that day. Thankfully it worked. Thankfully it wasn’t onto my fake power; and ran away.

Maybe you’ve encountered bravado from someone else. Perhaps a colleague, or competitor, a classmate, or neighbor makes himself bigger than he really is. Maybe even a friend blusters once in a while with false projections of her own power or prestige. Sometimes we see right through such fodder. It is, however, seldom used for good; it’s most often self-serving.

Jesus speaks of bravado – something he rejected for himself: “The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.” With these words he was laying aside his own prerogatives, goals, purposes in order to impress upon his followers and detractors that if they had a problem with him, it was really a problem with God. He was not worried about how he himself would be treated or accepted. He knew in the end he would be cast aside. But he was here to do the will of the Father. His power came from outside himself. He was under the authority of God. Whoever would reject him would have to deal with his Father in heaven. Whoever received him received the Father. He wasn’t seeking his own glory; he was living for the glory of God. His motives were totally pure.

We may never be 100 percent pure in our motives. But we can make it a point to live under the authority of God, seeking his glory not ours, and worry little about how others think of us, and more about how we reflect God’s grace and truth toward others. There are times when people make too much of such a life; they bluster about honoring God and representing his will when in fact they only seek their own way and glory. That’s not what Jesus did nor what he calls us to as his followers.  Our true strength and power comes from God not any self-appointed, projected importance or power. When it comes to relating to others, followers of Jesus will seek to live under Christ our Lord and save the bravado for charging and threatening dogs!