Living In View of One

12It so happened that, as Jesus was in one particular town, there was a man whose body was riddled with a virulent skin disease. When he saw Jesus, he fell on his face. “Lord,” he begged, “if you want, you can make me clean.” 13Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him. “I do want to,” he said. “Be clean.” And the skin disease disappeared immediately. 14Jesus instructed the man not to tell anyone. “Go and show yourself to the priest,” he said, “and make the offering commanded by Moses in connection with your healing, as evidence for them.” 15The news about Jesus, though, spread all around, and large crowds came to hear and to be healed from their diseases. 16He used to slip away to remote places and pray. - Luke 5

It is remarkable how a life looks when it is lived for the approval of God and God alone. In the above story, Jesus has what many of us (including myself), so desperately seek. In one healing there is instant approval, instant validation, instant success, instant power. "I know," says Jesus as he turns from us, to the man recently healed, "now don't tell anyone about it."Clearly, he isn't doing his deeds so that people can see and think a certain thing about him, but he is doing them so that his Father can see. He is living in view of one, and one alone. This is further evidenced when the fame that he was not seeking, finds him. He doesn't flee from it as if fame is an evil thing, but he behaves in front of many, as if he is standing in front of One. Then he shows his true desire by sneaking away from the fame, to spend more time with the One. His heart was with his Father, not with the fame, fortune, or prestige.How backwards do we (I) have it? Jesus had everything that we power hungry egomaniacs spend our lives trying to gain, but he didn't get them by trying to get them. He got them by living a life that was pleasing to his Father. To become the most powerful being in the universe, he eschewed power and embraced weakness. He is now the richest of all time, because he willingly became poor. To go up, he went down. He is now the most well known figure in human history (by love, contempt, or indifference), and it happened by craving to be well known by only One.I want to be like Jesus. He shows me the emptiness of all the other pursuits. What is better, to be known and celebrated by the masses, or to be known and celebrated by the Father? It's an easy answer. So why do we choose the former as our motivation in life? There are many reasons, I'm sure, but one of them has to be that we haven't tasted the sweetness of interactive relationship with God. Because once one has done so, the choice becomes obvious. St. Francis of Assisi only needed one drink, as it were, from the living fountain, before he saw his pursuit for fame and fortune as empty. Same for Ignatius of Loyola, the apostle Paul, and many other brilliant ones in the faith.I want to live like that. I want to be like Jesus. But let's not fool ourselves by thinking it will happen if we reject fame, and reject fortune, and reject power, etc... The life of God doesn't come by rejection, it comes by embrace. To be sure, rejection is involved, but only because of a positive choice. The rejections are little no's that come about because of one BIG YES.Jesus encourages us to wake every day, and give a big yes to the Father, and spend my days living for his approval alone. After all, what he thinks is the only thing that really matters.I hope this was of some help to you. I hope you give the BIG YES to God several times today, and I hope you are empowered to live today as if you stood before an audience of One.