Love Within

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

LOVE WITHIN

John 17:24-26

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. 25 "Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them." 

NIV

If anyone ever had any doubt about what happens to a believer after the death of the body, these words of Jesus should demolish any doubt whatsoever. Jesus prays to the Father that he wants us to be with him where he is and to see his glory. We can imagine, to some extent, what his glory may look like. But in our finite minds it may actually be impossible to fully understand just what His glory is. However, what we can be sure of is that we are going to see His glory. We can read with understanding the description of the new city of Jerusalem in the revelation He gave to John and get a good picture of just how glorious that place if going to be. However, the actual glory of Jesus may be more than that. Some of his disciplines saw him transfigured, which seems to indicate he glowed, almost translucent. The Greek word translated as transfigured is metamorphoo, which we can clearly see is where we get our English word metamorphous or to change, to transform from into something else. He was transformed from his human form into a brilliant white light appearance, his face shining like the sun, his robe as white as light. That may be just a smidgen of what his glory might be like. But we can be sure, it will not appear as we think he looked like when he walked among men and hung on the cross. He will not look like that person who appeared to Mary or his disciples, as he told her not to hold onto him as he had not yet returned to his Father. The glory that Jesus will have exceeds anything we can possibly conjure up, but we will know it, we will see it, we will be with him in all his glory.  The other incredible truth is that we know the Father, We know God. The world does not. It might know of him, that is have some idea God exists, in some form or another, but the people of the world do not know Him. He is more than just an idea of some supreme force to us, He is our Father who is in heaven. We not only know who He is, and where He is, but we know Him, we have had an intimate encounter with Him and continue to have this encounter on a daily basis. Jesus has promised us that he will continue to make the Father known to us in order that the love the Father has for Jesus will be in us. In addition, Jesus prays that he will be in us as well as the love of the Father. We live with the love of God within us. His love is not an abstract concept that we need to grasp. His love is in us. We understand, to some degree, in our human means of expressing love to each other, especially our family, our parents, spouse, and children. Yet, the love of God for us and in us is far beyond any capacity we humans can express that love, and just to think He loves us that much and His love is in us. We are not just somebody to be loved, we have His love within us. So then let us live in His love, fully content, fully at peace, fully satisfied with His love, and know that someday we will be where He is.