At the Last Supper, after Judas had left the room to betray him, Jesus prayed. In his prayer he gave us an insight into his understanding of the significance of his life, and by so doing he gave us an understanding of the significance of our lives as well.. William Temple writes that John 17 is perhaps, "the most sacred passage even in the four Gospels - the record of the Lord's prayer of self-dedication as it lived in the memory and imagination of His most intimate friend."

Contentment was a virtue to be prized in the ancient world. In the moral philosophy of Stoicism the ability to be content became the essence of all virtues. One was content when one lived according to that which suited one's nature. Stoics prided themselves in becoming independent of things and relying on themselves or in submitting to the lot meted out by the gods. However such a philosophy required education and affluence. It was made famous by the Emperor Marcus Aurelius.

"Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set." (Genesis 28:10,11) Jacob was on a journey, seeking a wife, and the blessing that God had given Abraham. He reached a 'certain place.' We have reached a certain place in our lives. We have stopped here because the day is ending. Most of us have reached a certain time in our lives, when we are of a certain age.

He maintains that it is 'only when we do the Jesus truth in the Jesus way do we get the Jesus life.' We can know all about the truth of the Gospel, and we can try all we like to live as a Christian, but unless we let Jesus live through us, we are off base. This, he says, he hasn't found to be easy.

The reason it isn't easy is because there are two things absolutely basic to the Christian life that are counter to most things North American.