(NIV)John 17:25-26
“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.”
What an incredible statement, that Jesus has made the Father known to us, so that His love for Jesus might be in us. I once heard someone say the Holy Spirit is the physical embodiment of the Love of the Father and Son for each other, and this verse reminds me of that. We are filled with the Holy Spirit when we come into relationship with Jesus and through Him, the Father, so this makes sense in some ways.
It is far beyond my puny human mnd to comprehend the fullness of these two verses, but nonetheless they are greatly encouraging. Jesus himself is in us. The Father's love for Jesus is in us. So when the Father looks at me, He sees Jesus and His love for His son. Wow!
As I was meditating on this verse, I found myself thinking about mountain climbers, scaling a steep and perilous snow covered mountain. I was thinking about the fact that they are roped together and how dangerous this can be. If the person on the end slips and starts sliding down the slope, they can endanger the others that are roped together, the worst case being that they are all pulled off balance and fall together.
I could see in my minds eye, the struggle to stop the slide, and if by chance they stop, the terrible decisions that might need to be made, especially if the person at the end is dangling from the rope, endangering the rest. I imagined if it was me and my three brothers, knowing the love we have for each other, how terrible it would be to decide what to do. I found myself thinking that if I was the one dangling off the edge, endangering my brothers, I would cut the rope myself, but if I was the third in line and it was one of my other brothers dangling over the edge, I could never cut them loose.
As I found myself thinking about all this, I came back to my present mind, and wondered why I would be led to think these thoughts, for they are clearly not my normal early morning thoughts. Then I realized that I am tied in with the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. My relationship with them, is as real as my relationship with my brothers, through blood, Jesus' blood. The main difference is that I will never endanger them in my slips and falls, and they will never cut my rope. They are completely faithful, all powerful, full of patience, and full of Love - in fact they are Love.
When I slip and fall the Father looks down, sees His Son and His Love in me, grabs the rope and gives a mighty pull, and saves me! Now that is an image I can hold onto in my daily walk and the struggles I encounter. Thank You Lord for Your awesome love and faithfulness.
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