Holy Spirit of God, visit now this soul of mine, and tarry within it until the eventide. Inspire all my thoughts. Pervade all my imaginations. Suggest all my decisions. Lodge in my soul’s most inward citadel, and order all my doings. Be with me in silence and in my speech, in my haste and in my leisure, in company and in solitude, in the freshness of the morning and the weariness of the evening. Give me grace at all times to rejoice in Thy mysterious companionship.
~John Baillie
They did not understand that He had been speaking to them about the Father. So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. And He who sent Me is with Me. He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.” As He was saying these things, many believed in Him.
~ Jesus, King of The Universe, and a man under Authority in John 8
Oh beloved, there is this amazing dynamic in the Gospels. Not only did Jesus live a perfect life in terms of never doing anything wrong – He also modeled how to do everything right.
Our Beloved lived in the Presence of His Father. It was very simple. He, Jesus, King of Kings and LORD of LORDS lived in utter, submitting, communing obiescence to His Father.
The G_d-man showed how any being in the universe should live – deeply and completely enmeshed in the will of the One Who was, and Who Is, and Who Is to come.
But why?
Love.
Can we see it yet? The Trinity is real, and it is surely a mystery. But there are certain aspects that are not mysterious. There are Three Persons living in total communion with each Other.
At the very, very least:
There is no conflict. There is only community.
There is no anger. There is only righteousness.
There is no waste. There is only clarity.
There is no division. There is only peace.
There is no confusion. There is only wisdom.
There is no weakness. There is only Joy.
There is no lack. There is only fullness.
There is no isolation. There is only communion.
There is no wishing. There is only knowing.
There is no existing. There only Is.
And the medium for such mystery as this?
Love.
Everything (read every thing, all things, completely, absolutely, profoundly everything) we have ever hoped for, wished for, longed for or even dreamed for is found in the context of eternal relationship. To be fully known. To fully know. To be able to effect change. To be full. To be rested. To be powerful. To be Loved. All of these deep inner longings are deeply met in true relationship with Him. And Jesus knew this. There was absolutely nowhere inside or outside of all creation that He wanted to be but with His Friend, Father, Lover and Family.
And Jesus understood something else. He knew that the only way a relationship like this can work is to leave any selfish desires or motivations completely out of the equation. For it is only in abandoning selfish individuality that one can find one’s true identity. We were never Designed to live life alone. We were designed to live in utter communion with the G_dhead. We were designed to have all the relationship mentioned above – and exceedingly, abundantly more.
We know this and yet we fight this: We will only find what we are looking for when we quit trying to obtain it. The only path to communion is allowing it to happen on His terms. And those terms are absolute surrender to the only One with the actual right to make the rules.
But what about Love?
This is Love.
Love is the profound concern for the well-being and plans of another without any concern for one’s own satisfaction, security, or results. And this is what Jesus had for His Dad. He simply wanted what His Dad wanted. He deeply wanted other people to see how cool His Dad was (is, and is to come). And Jesus simply did not care what anybody else thought about that.
And here is the mystery. G_d the Father has the exact same Love for us! He is so desirous of our good, that He tore Himself asunder and killed His Begotten that we might live. He emptied Himself that we might be filled. He became poor that we might become rich beyond measure. He endured isolation from eternal relationship (get this – infinite relationship has been broken for us) that we might ever live in communion with Him.
Jesus did indeed live a sinless life! But, this writer believes we are missing the point if we only focus on that. Jesus Lived a real life. Jesus actually Lived as Designed. He walked drenched in Love for His Father and for other people. And this is how He so exceedingly fulfilled all the Law.
Yeah, when in doubt, do what Jesus would do. But, it seems to this writer that the answer is Live like Jesus lived. Love one another. Give up on your self. Live in utter reliance on and utter obedience to Him – and simply Love one another, for as Dr. Larry Crabb once said, “relationship is the final stuff of reality.”
This is the path of Life. And this is very good news.
