October 2 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

Jesus spoke the words recorded in Hebrews 10:7 before he was born in Bethlehem. This is the oath sworn by the Son of God in the council of the triune God before he entered the world.

The eternal Son of God saw our planet swinging in space. He saw you and me, bowed down and wounded. He saw our inability to come to him and fulfill our calling. He saw the sacrifices and he noticed the burnt offerings. They were temporary measures, the shadows of things to come. In themselves they were powerless to bring people to God and keep them there.

Then Christ made his decision and announced his goal: "I have come to do your will, my God." The purpose of his life and death is summed up in these words. If you ask why God became a human being and why Christ suffered and died among us, here is your answer: that God's will might be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Christ came to do God's will. And he did it.

According to God's will, he was born in Bethlehem and lived in Nazareth, in Jerusalem, in Gethsemane, and on Golgotha. Then he cried from earth to heaven: "Finished! Now the Father's will has been done on earth as it is being done in heaven. My God and Father, I have done your will, as it is written of me in the scrolls of prophecy."

Christ came to do God's will, and he came to teach the rebels of this earth the road of obedience.

When a teacher has a class of completely unwilling students, he or she hopes for one, just one, who can be a leader among them and bend the behavior of the class from opposition to cooperation. One like that has come into our world, and he has turned the tide.

Now the Son of Man is in heaven, and the Spirit of God is on earth. The followers of Christ are also the sons and daughters of obedience. They have been set free by the Spirit of Christ so that the will of God might be done on earth as it is in heaven.

REFLECTIONS

What new insights does this Scripture and reading give you about Christ?

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.