One of my favorite passages in the Bible is found in John chapter fourteen, verses one through four, and reads, 'Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would not have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going'. Lately I have felt overwhelmed by a number of burdens, some more heavy than others, but all of which the Lord has taken from me as He has done in the past and will always do until Christ's return when burdens shall exist no longer. While on a Jesus date this morning, I was reminded of the Lord's comfort and faithfulness through the above passage from John. God sent Jesus to be the example of godliness in a sinful world, and even when Christ left the world-physically-to be with His Father, He gave us a hope for the future of life in the presence of God. This was encouragement to me, to remember the promise of eternal life in Heaven. Even when I can't comprehend the details of what Heaven will be like, where it could possibly exist, or other points my limited human brain tries to grasp at, I have comfort in the assurance of Heaven through Christ, and so a full understanding of how every minute detail works is not needed.
How can we know these things are true? There is historical evidence and philosophical reason to believe of course, but the proof I refer to now are simple scriptures found in verses six and seven, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him'. If there is one true God, there must be one true way. Belief in Christ is that way, and I've heard some say the disciples or people in bible times 'had it easier' because Christ was there with them in the flesh, but how can this be true? All of humanity has been given a commission in the book of Matthew, and because it is the teachings of Jesus that are divine and sent from God, we are able to know Christ's truth today by putting his teachings into practice. Only by living as Christ calls us are we able to know the truth, see the light and godliness of His teachings, and believe in Him. If His teachings hold true and they do, then I am able to take on faith His divinity and with that the assurance of a life with Him and the Father in Heaven. We are redeemed through Christ. Forgiveness exists-once sin is acknowledged of course-and because Jesus and His life and death provide redemption and a new way of living, often called a 're-birth', empowerment is provided when realization hits and acceptance of Christ occurs. We see the goodness of dying to sin and living in Christ, and often, if not always, this must be taken on faith before the goodness of God is revealed. Faith is a concept that I've grown in my understanding of the past year, but I'll dedicate a post to the concept later.
I found such peace this morning while having tea with Jesus, especially after reading verse twelve, 'I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father' and later I very much enjoyed verse eighteen, 'I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you'. What is Christ saying here? Jesus was not promising His followers sweeping supernatural powers that would out-perform His own miraculous signs. Rather, He was promising the coming of the Holy Spirit and a resulting world-wide ministry. The scope would be greater, multiplying through the growth of the church, and we see this happening later in the book of Acts as people of the early church fulfilled this prediction. Today, the Holy Spirit provides guidance, instruction, and encouragement to us in every day in the ways of Jesus. There are ways to be sure that a teaching is from the Holy Spirit, but I will dedicate a post to that later. I found comfort in knowing that Christ has not left us as orphans, even when we feel as such, because through the gift of the Spirit, which we know to be true, and the promise of His return, which we look forward to very much, we are still able to know and follow Him.
One last point: the unity of love and obedience. Throughout the chapter of John Christ refers to obeying the Father through love and because of love. Which comes first, love or obedience? My conclusion is that they go hand in hand; one cannot exist without the other. The two accompany one another and are a single package-to love God is to obey Him and vice versa. What is our example, then? Christ. Because Jesus and the Father are one, to obey and love Christ is to obey and love God. No other person or object should be our example.
I was reminded of these truths this morning, and I hope these words are encouragement to you!
