The final words of our Lord in the incident we are considering are these: "Father, glorify thy name" (John 12:28, RSV). What a decision! What a moment! "Father, do not think of what it costs me - only glorify Your name." At that moment, He gave God a blank cheque, blank save that it was signed in His own blood. It is a great moment in our life, too, when we hand God a blank cheque, signed in our own blood, and invite Him to call on us for all we have and all we are. One person described this moment as "the great renunciation". If that is so, then the moment of great renunciation is followed by a great annunciation. Listen: "Then a voice came from heaven, 'I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again' " (John 12:28, RSV). The moment Jesus made the final response, then heaven spoke. Many of us who complain we are living under a silent heaven would find it vocal with the voice of God if we would choose the Calvary way. Of course, the bystanders missed what was really going on and "said that it had thundered" (John 12:29). To them, it was the impersonal voice of nature. Others came a little closer to reality, and said: "An angel had spoken to him." To them, it was a little more than the impersonal voice of nature, and yet something less than the voice of God. Anyone who stands on the edges of life as a bystander is bound to give a shallow interpretation of what God is doing. It is only those who have faced the alternatives - to die or not to die - who are really involved.

Prayer:

My Father, I don't want to be a bystander. I want to be in the centre of all You are saying and all You are doing. Heres my cheque - signed with my own blood. Fill it in for everything You want from me. I do it willingly, gladly, happily. Amen.

For further study:

Joshua 24:1-15; Luke 10:42

1. What challenge did Joshua bring?

2. What was said of Moses?