I AM ... are You?

I started off my study time this morning by reviewing where I had stopped at John 10:9 on the previous day.  From there I ended up on a rabbit trail in the book of Exodus.  I was reading in the Jubilee Bible which takes words, terms or phrases and will follow their trails throughout the Old and New Testaments.  Since John 10:9 begins with Jesus proclaiming that “I AM” it was only normal to trace that declaration to Exodus where God Almighty introduced Himself to Moses as the great “I AM” (Exodus 3:14)

As the Lord passed before Moses on the mountain when He wrote His laws on the tablets of stone for the second time after the rebellion by the Israelites, He matter-of-factly told him that “I am the Lord God. I am merciful and very patient with my people.  I show great love and (I) can be trusted.” (Exodus 34:6 CEV)  At that moment in time He clearly established His nature, His will and attitude toward mankind.  Then in Matthew 12:50 Jesus concurred with His Father’s words and passed it on to us by declaring “Whoever does what my Father in heaven wants is my brother and sister and mother.” (God’s Word ©)

As members of the family of Christ, we too are to show ourselves as being very merciful toward what we may consider as the faults of others, show them great love, and be to them as the ones that they can trust, no matter what is said or done.  In the first eight verses of Exodus six, I counted no less than eight times where our Father God unequivocally spoke of things that “I” have or will do for those who follow after Him.

Those statements got me to thinking about how I interact with others.  Am I more concerned about what I will get out of the relationship or of how I can put myself into a posture to be a blessing to them?  The great “I AM” made it clear to Moses that He was all about giving and not taking.  Jesus made it clear by His words and corresponding actions that He was all about not being concerned about His own welfare, but about the welfare of those He came in contact with on a daily basis.  Jesus knew that He didn’t have to care about Himself, because His Papa had His back!

And you know… Papa God has our backs too!  Hummm… something else to think about wouldn’t you say?  Have a great day!  Stay in tune to Him and His Word, and keep asking yourself… “What or Whom am I expecting today?”