…that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I
in You; that they also may be one in Us… —John 17:21
“God is not concerned
about our plans; He doesn’t ask, ‘Do you want to go through this loss of a
loved one, this difficulty, or this defeat?’ No, He allows these things for His
own purpose. The things we are going through are either making us sweeter,
better, and nobler men and women, or they are making us more critical and
fault-finding, and more insistent on our own way. The things that happen either make us evil, or they make us more
saintly, depending entirely on our relationship with God and its level of
intimacy. If we will pray, regarding our own lives, ‘Your will be done’
(Matthew 26:42), then we will be encouraged and comforted by John 17, knowing
that our Father is working according to
His own wisdom, accomplishing what is best. When we understand God’s
purpose, we will not become small-minded and cynical. Jesus prayed nothing less
for us than absolute oneness with Himself, just as He was one with the Father.
Some of us are far from this oneness; yet God will not leave us alone until we
are one with Him— because Jesus prayed, ‘…that they all may be one….’”
Do you have regrets in your life? Things that you wish were
different? Maybe something that happened
to you or perhaps something you did.
Maybe you fall short in your Christian life. You find, perhaps after years of following
Christ, that you still struggle with sin. I don’t think that struggle will ever go away
so long as we are confined to these Jars of Clay. Our sins may look different, shifting from
the outside to the inside, but Jesus told us that it is sin all the same. “If you look on a woman with lust in your
heart” “If you hate your brother in your
heart” My sin is an issue between me and
God. Certainly Jesus paid it all … all
to Him I owe .. sin had left a crimson stain .. He washed it white as snow …
but I still find that I struggle. So
what is the answer … the answer is to be one as Jesus and the Father are one.
The Father’s nature was revealed through the Son. And so, the Son’s nature should be revealed
through us. The only way that will
happen is if we dedicate ourselves to the pursuit of our faith. If we make our primary purpose to be more
like Jesus. Dr Howard Hendricks told a story
about wanting to be able to play the piano like Van Cliburn, the famous
pianist. That is until he learned that
Van Cliburn still practiced 8 hours a day.
Dr Hendricks was not willing to dedicate himself to that level of effort
just to play the piano better. I was
talking to someone the other day about my guitar playing. I told him that I don’t play the guitar well,
but I do play it well enough. For many
of us, that is how we treat our faith.
We are content with not being one with Jesus, but being related to
Him. Maybe being better than the person
next to us. God has intended so much
more for us. The closer you draw to Jesus the further you will move away from sin
and the brighter will be the light that shines through you. Keep in mind .. you are heaven bound.
“ [You've] got a mansion just over the hilltop In that
bright land where we'll never grow old And someday yonder, we'll never more
wander But walk on streets that are purest gold. Though often tempted,
tormented and tested And like the prophet [your] pillow is stone And though [you]
find here no permanent dwelling [you] know he'll give [you] a mansion [your]
own”
BTW, Van Cliburn died at age 78 and then stood before the eternal
judge … the question asked of him was not did he know how to play the piano,
but was his name written in the Lamb’s Book Of Life. (Revelation 21:27)
Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)
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