After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed." ~ John 17:1 - 5 About this time in the life of the Disciples, there has to be a new sense of reality starting to creep into their lives. If there was any doubt prior to Jesus' death of who he was, that surely has been wiped away. However, humanity being humanity, is still going to have it's moments to figure things out. John is sharing an intimate moment Jesus is having with God, and records Jesus basically reminding God, it is now YOUR time. I love that there is this type of relationship between God and Jesus. Their relationship is a reminder that there is a balance within the Trinity. That when One portion of the Trinity does something, each part of God is glorified. While we may not always understand how this works, it is okay. The glory of God seeks to reach out to us. Jesus has fulfilled one part of God's plan. Because of what Jesus has experienced, even though there was great pain and suffering, the relationship of God with us has been fulfilled and our life lived in eternity will be complete because even through our own difficult life experiences, we have remained faithful. The presence of Christ following the resurrection among the Disciples just goes to show to what great lengths God is willing to go in order to ensure our faith remains firm and that we continue to seek to have a relationship with God each day. The words, "It is finished," have been turned into a great "Amen" at the end of a life that was lived to help each of us better understand our faith. To have moments in time where we can look and proclaim that Jesus is real, and the life of Jesus was part of God's great plan for each of us! While the Disciples surely were beginning to realize that there was another change about to enter their lives, this next change would involve a presence of God they had yet to experience. This next chapter would invoke the Spirit within each of them that would take them to a new place in their faith journey. Stay in God's grip! G. Todd Williams (c) 2017 Dear Lord, help me to live each moment glorifying You and what you have done in my life, so that others may learn more of faith, and have more faith in YOU! Comments are closed.
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AuthorRev. G. Todd Williams is the author of the book, "Remember Me When..." and is a former hospice chaplain and pastor. Archives
February 2024
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