November 2, 2022 -- John 17:9-10; 20-23 -- Inexpressibly rich communion with God

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.
John 17:9-10; 20-23 ESV

Communion with God versus forgetting God. Where are you at on this?

Yesterday, while driving back from a prison visit, I listened to the ever-enthusiastic John Piper. The podcast is titled: “Don’t Waste Your Life”. One mighty lesson he learned in his late teens, a lesson that has carried him through his life, is to focus on the glory of God. This fills his thoughts and imagination; this picture of God's glory fires his prayers and inspires his devotion. What an apt description for the concept of communion with God.

Look at John 17. Jesus is praying that His followers will know Him and that He will be glorified in the life and witness of His followers. In fact, generation after generation, as the people of God who know Jesus Christ bless Him and worship Him and reflect on His glory, their wonder-filled witness will be used by the Spirit to draw new believers to Jesus. Communion with God is not a dead duty, it is life itself.

Think of it. How did Jesus endure a human life of suffering? He endured more suffering than anyone else ever could. Yet, as a man, He walked in the peace of knowing His Father. He lived aware of the Father’s glory—such glory that lifts one from considering his own circumstances and causes him to delight in God alone. The Scriptures, well-known to Jesus (perhaps even having memorized the Old Testament), were the fuel that increased His devotion to His Father. Jesus refuted the devil by the Scriptures. Jesus withstood attacks by religious leaders, drawing from the Scriptures, which were for Him the wells of life that refreshed His soul no matter His circumstances. It is a life of glory. Though circumstances were dire, His vision and thoughts were filled with vision and the imaginings of the glory of His Father. His purpose was that others who would come to know the Father through His life, death and resurrection and intercession, would also spend their lives in the intimacy of exploring and knowing ever-more-completely the glory of the Father.

This is communion with God. It cannot be boring. It is the purpose for which the Triune God has created humanity—that they would know His glory in order to know the fullest joy possible. We fail. Often. Regularly. Deeply. Yet, we have this mighty and beautiful goal before us: the vision of the glory of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. What privilege is given every day to commune with Him!

God our Father, fill Your people with the knowledge of Your Glory--Jesus Christ--Who is radiancy divine! God our Father, fill Your people with the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit Who takes the richness of the Word and fuels in believers a profound and holy understanding of Your glory and beauty, Your wisdom and majesty, such that hearts and minds will continually yearn to know the Almighty with ever-increasing clarity and worship-filled wonder. Forgive us for the times when Bible reading and prayer times were merely an item on the checklist of the day, rather than the undergirding inspiration to carry the believer through-out the day. Our Father in heaven, hallowed, glorified, be Your Name. Amen.

https://youtu.be/S6OgZCCoXWc

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