“But Jesus asked him, ‘Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?’” (Luke 22:48, NIV84)

Michael Card wrote a song about Judas’ betrayal, and in it were these words, “but that is not what a kiss is for.” These words cause me to cringe every time I hear them. I so often criticize Judas for betraying Jesus in such a cold (wrong) way, but quickly I realize that I, too, have betrayed Him with a kiss. I have told Jesus how much I love Him on Sunday and betrayed Him by Monday. I have often used the right words as cover for the wrong motives and actions. I guess what I am saying is that there is a lot of Judas in me. And my question for you is, if you were really honest with yourself would there be a little Judas in you, too?

I think there is a little Judas in each of us. Our faith and commitment to Jesus is a little lukewarm. We waiver in our commitment. Our sinful nature gets the best of us and we begin to want things to be our way. But enough about us! The key to all of this is that the One betrayed still loves us. He still went to the cross to redeem a people whose faith is fickle. Paul says to Timothy, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, because He cannot deny Himself” (2 Timothy 2:13). The key to our spirituality is to know that we have a God who is always faithful to us. May we find hope, peace, and joy in the loving faithfulness of Jesus our Savior.

Peace!

Pastor Tom

www.firmlyrooted.church