“Jesus
said to the Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My
disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make
you free.’” John
8:31-32
It’s
very simple. The “word” is the Scripture, and Jesus is the “word made
flesh”. Therefore if we never spend time in the “word”, we cannot be
disciples of the Messiah whom we know nothing about and will not follow.
An intellectual and/or historical acknowledgement that a man named ‘Jesus’
existed is not “abiding” in Him. Refusing to attend worship of the Holy
Father to hear and celebrate the “word” in fellowship with other disciples is
not “abiding” in Him. Refusing to share in the sacraments given to us by
Him is not “abiding” in Him. Having a “bumper sticker relationship” with
Him (that is, knowing some short verses such as “the truth shall make you
free”, or “God so loved the world …’”) is no relationship at all because each
little saying has a context. And it is often that we toss short phrases
carelessly about with no knowledge of what the phrase actually means. If
this is the case, there is no knowledge of Messiah Himself; only the knowledge
of some empty words.
Understand
this is not about heaven or hell, being saved, or being unsaved.
This is about living the fullest of the life which has been given to each of us
to fulfill a divine purpose. Knowing Messiah is about knowing the
fullness of the Holy Father’s love for His creation and understanding why He
chose to humble Himself so. Abiding in the fullness of Messiah Jesus is
abiding in the fullness of Divine Love.
Do
not neglect those simple means of grace by which we remain constantly and
intimately connected to our Holy Father. He came to us for a reason; and
that reason was, indeed, YOU and the Life He means for you to have.
Blessings,
Michael
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