Friday 21 May 2021

May 21: John 17:20-26
 
Key Verse: John 17:24
Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
 
Devotion:
Read through these verses before you read my words. Read them carefully and mindfully.
 
This is a prayer Jesus prayed to God the Father for us! This prayer is for all of us who are believers in Christ to be one body, one church, now and forever! This is not just a prayer for us to be friends or to love our neighbours, but to be as one body, one being... just the same as Christ and the Holy Spirit and God the Father are one God! This is the type of closeness Christ wants with us – not just friends!
 
When we sing that chorus “what a friend we have in Jesus” it is not worthy of the prayer Jesus prays here.  Jesus wants to be much closer than friends with us. Jesus wants us to be much closer to God than just believers who will get to be in heaven one day. Jesus wants us to be one with Him just as He is one with God the Father. This means Jesus wants us to be one with the Father!
 
Jesus made sure we got to feel the real love by giving us the Holy Spirit, that He could dwell in us and love us in a way we could not explain in words. Jesus wants us to experience the love He shares with the Father. Jesus wants us to know this love He has for us! Just as Jesus has loved us from the beginning of time, so too is this love He wants us to experience with Him and God the Father.
 
We may find it difficult to figure out the Trinity – how God can be three parts but one – but this is the same one-ness God wants for us!
 
Points to Ponder:
Do you like having the Holy Spirit with you?
 
Will you make room for God in three persons in your heart?