I Don't Want to Be a Judas

A certain spiritual has a verse that says this. 'I don't want to be like Judas in my heart'. The author of this song expressed a view of wanting to be a friend of Jesus Christ. He wanted to have a good heart and a relationship with God. We can have a relationship with God. It is through his son Jesus Christ. It was God's will for Jesus to go to the cross to save mankind from eternal separation from him. Therefore rescuing us from eternal death to eternal life. Enter Satan into the picture.

Satan is a fallen angel who lived in Heaven for a time. He was created by God as the Son of the Morning. He was thrown out for refusing to be obedient to God. He wants us to be as he is, bound for Hell. He is the reasons behind all problems, trouble, sins, you name it. Since Jesus was to come to earth in order to be crucified and save us from eternal punishment, Satan was to stand in the way of this. He used Judas as a way to try and stop Jesus from fulfilling this mission. He succeeded in destroying Judas' life. He seeks to do the same for us. Though Jesus called everyone of his disciples into relationship with him, one would ask what was Judas thinking?

Here's the deal. Mankind has to make a choice about his future. One can go about from day to day wanting everything in this life. At some point though, our spiritual well being has to be taken into consideration. Is what we can see all there is to our existence?

We can act like Judas when we are unconcerned about our eternal life. In our day it's good to go to church, much like it was good then to hang out with Jesus. It can be an enjoyable experience being in the presence of God and all. You get the chance to hang around the godly people. Much like Judas we seemingly are a part of the team. But do we have a relationship with God though? O when it's rough we can turn to him in prayer for help. The rest of the time, we take him for granted. Is your relationship to God important? I hope so. We love God but can still fail to please him with our life. I found it important to explore this topic because I noticed that Satan is playing a part in destroying lives. If you aren't concerned about your spiritual life, he's already playing a part in your life. As close as Peter was to Jesus (he was a member of the inner circle) he still denied Christ when things got rough. He does this after he practically vows to die with Jesus. After the Holy Spirit revealed to him that Jesus was Christ the son of the living God. He was intrigued. He was committed to Jesus even more. Believe that Christ is who he says he is. 'The way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me'.

Here's the deal. Judas wanted what a lot of us want in life: money, power, and position. He doesn't profess to love Christ. He pays 'lip service' in agreeing with the other disciples to go with Jesus all the way. But he has no close connection to God. He makes a deal with the priests and elders to betray Jesus.

What happens when Judas throws the money away and runs out into the night air? He commits suicide by hanging himself. He buys a field. He hangs himself from a tree that next morning. He feels there's nothing to live for and gives up. He gets no chance to receive forgiveness the way Peter did. He went to the wrong people for help. It didn't occur to him that the ones with whom he had made the deal to betray Jesus wouldn't forgive him. Did they trick him? How can you expect someone to forgive you for setting some one else up when they are apart of the plan? My best explanation is this. When you turn from Jesus instead of going to him for your life's needs, you miss out. When you follow Satan, you give him a hold on your life. We often look for love or forgiveness from people who really can't or won't give that to us. You can't go to your haters for deliverance. It's obvious that Jesus was on his way to the illegal trial held by night. He was presented for execution the next day.

Jesus was crucified the next day. He dies and rises again in three days. He ascends back to Heaven. The Holy Spirit of God is available to us to quicken our hearts. Since Judas lost hope and killed himself, this should remind us not to focus so much on worldly pursuits that we neglect our souls. It is important to not reject Christ. Those of us who haven't made the choice to live for Christ are neglecting him and our spiritual health. If you are putting off making this crucial decision, Stop! Remember, there's a life after this one. We must decide whether to spend eternity in paradise or be lost forever. Decide to live forever with God. Make it your business to accept Jesus and receive God's forgiveness today.