Reflection for March 14, Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent: John 5:31-47

Gospel: John 5:31-47

Jesus said to the Jews: “If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not true. But there is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true. You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth. I do not accept human testimony, but I say this so that you may be saved.  

He was a burning and shining lamp, and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light. But I have testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf.  

But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form, and you do not have his word remaining in you, because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent. You search the Scriptures, because you think you have eternal life through them; even they testify on my behalf. But you do not want to come to me to have life. “I do not accept human praise; moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you. I came in the name of my Father, but you do not accept me; yet if another comes in his own name, you will accept him.  

How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God? Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father: the one who will accuse you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope. For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed me, because he wrote about me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”

+ + + + + +

Reflection:

How do we testify our life as a follower of Jesus? The best testimony of a follower is how he/she lives his own life. Does he live his life with forgiveness, humility, simplicity, sacrifice, unconditional love and the like?  Many of us call ourselves follower of Jesus but when it comes to forgiving those who’ve hurt us we cannot forgive.  

If we cannot forgive those who’ve hurt us, then we are followers in name only. Sad to say, many of us are like that: followers in name only. On the aspect of humility, we can best testify that we are followers of Jesus when we don’t seek prominence and silently do our work for the Lord.

On the aspect of simplicity, Jesus is the supreme model of simplicity. He is content with whatever that He has Jesus did not desire expensive things and other appendages. Many of us live complicated lives for the simple reason that we live the life of this world rather than live the life of Jesus.  

So, in the end we will find out that we have been living an empty life because we lived our life testifying for this world instead of testifying for the Lord.  However, it’s not yet late to change this worldly life that we presently have we still can turn it around by living our life for  the Lord and not for this world. – Marino J. Dasmarinas