Where Did Everybody Go?
Is the memory of someone the same as having them with you always? No, while memories are wonderful, they are not the same as really being together at the level we once were.
When we think of Jesus, unfortunately many of us think of Him like a memory. We remember Him as a wonderful Man Who lived long ago. We believe we should remember Him, like we would remember anyone in History who was great. He said some great stuff and we like to quote Him. We may even try to incorporate His Way of Thinking into our life.
We’ve been told He will be back on earth one day and a lot of people are looking forward to that. We hear He exited through the clouds and He’ll come back that way. It is said He is at the Right Hand of God. We may think this means They are both far off in this place called Heaven.
We piece all this together to come to the conclusion that Jesus and God are far away. We speak of sending prayers “up.” We understand that there is a Powerful Holy Spirit, Who is here and does interesting things. Many of us linger between a longing for Him and a little anxiety over what He might have us do.
So today, let’s have a look at where everyone is and what any of this might have to do with us.
Separate But Equal
Sometimes, even if we believe in the Trinity, we see God, Jesus and The Holy Spirit sort of like an equilateral triangle. They each have their part of the whole, they touch, and no matter which way you turn them, they kind of look alike.
But that is not the way Jesus described Their Relationship. He described it as being so thoroughly mixed together that They, in fact, are One. The Relationship into which Jesus invites us with Them is so mixed together that we will no longer be separate in any way.
And The News Just Keeps Getting Better and Better!
God wants us right in the midst of them, as a part of the Wonderful One!
Remember Jesus’ Words, as recorded in John 14:18:
I AM in The Father
and He is in Me
and I AM in you!
Lesson One about the One is that No One leaves the other. The One with Whom you are One has never left you and never will!
Always Together, Never Apart!
God has said,
“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.”
Hebrews 13:5
Jesus wants us to always be with Him. That is what He said in His Prayer as recorded in John 17:22-25.
Father, I want those You have given Me
to be with Me where I AM,
and to see My Glory,
The Glory You have given Me
because You loved Me
before the Creation of the world!
Jesus underscored His Commitment to being with us when He said,
And surely I AM with you always!
Matthew 28:20
What God has Joined Together, Let No One Separate!
So how does being One work? It doesn’t, unless it is exactly as Jesus taught over and over again. He, The Father, and The Holy Spirit are One … and His Design is for us to be in the midst of them.
When we try to split up the One, even the Easter story becomes confusing. We find ourselves wondering how God could put His Son in such a position, as we find Jesus in what appeared to be His last days on earth.
We try to come up with reasons why Jesus seemed to be begging His Father to let Him out of Their Plan. When God said so plainly, He would never leave us nor forsake us, how could Jesus ever think He was forsaken? What was that all about?
In future posts, we will walk through the events surrounding Easter, but from a different perspective. We will look at those events through the Eyes of The One.
But for now, let’s join Jesus’ Disciples, who were trying to grasp what Jesus was telling them about the coming events.
How’s That Again, Jesus?
Jesus’ Disciples’ heads must have been spinning. They were really concrete guys. They were used to what they could see and feel. Now Jesus was talking about being with them, but not really being with them. Perhaps you also have questions about how this whole thing actually fits together.
In John 14, we find Thomas and Philip trying desperately to understand what Jesus meant.
When Jesus told them they knew where He was going, Thomas said to Him,
“Lord, we don’t know where You are going,
so how can we know the way?”
John 14:5
Jesus answered,
“I AM the Way and the Truth and the Life!
No one comes to the Father except through Me.
If you really know Me, you will know My Father as well.
From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him!”
Philip piped up and told Jesus to show them the Father and that would be good enough. He seemed to be saying, “Forget all this talk. Show me something I can see!” Jesus must have chuckled.
Jesus answered,
“Don’t you know Me, Philip,
even after I have been among you such a long time?
Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.
How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
Don’t you believe that I AM in the Father,
and that the Father is in Me?”
Talk about a great Reveal! Jesus was revealing again that He and the Father are One.
Beyond that, in verse 16, it is recorded Jesus said,
“I will ask the Father
and He will give you another Advocate to help you
and be with you forever —
the Spirit of Truth!
(Note: Remember Jesus had just said
He was The Way, THE TRUTH, and The Life!)
The world cannot accept Him,
because it neither sees Him nor knows Him.
But you know Him,
for He lives with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans.
I will come to you!
Before long the world will not see Me anymore,
but you will see Me.
Because I live, you also will live.
On that day you will realize
that I AM in My Father,
and you are in Me,
and I AM in you.
Whoever has My Commands and keeps them
is the one who loves Me.
The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father
and I too will love them
and show Myself to them.
Jesus was not only guaranteeing His Presence, but He was also guaranteeing His Followers would actually see Him!
Seeing in A New Way!
Have you ever seen anything that was seen from somewhere other than through your physical, daytime eyes? Ever seen something in a dream? Ever seen something in your imagination? Ever remembered a person or place and you could recall every detail? There are ways of seeing other than the traditional one way we think of!
Jesus could reveal His Presence through our physical eyes or as He is so fond of doing, He could take it up a notch! But He promised His Followers would see Him and know that He was still very much on earth inside of them!
Life Revealed from The One Inside of Us
Jesus was revealing to His Disciples that not only would they be getting new spiritual eyes that would allow them to see Him, but they would also be getting new spiritual ears! They would see Him and hear Him, not from the outside, but from the inside!
Where Jesus had been seen in just His One Body, He now wanted His Message to “go viral!” He wanted His Light to be turned on in every creation of God, in every time and every place.
He wants you to know He is at Home now, waiting for you to recognize Him.
Where is Home for God/Jesus/The Holy Spirit?
David once wanted to build a house for God. You can read about it in 1st Chronicles. The Lord rejected David’s offer, noting that He really didn’t need the house David was offering Him. But as recorded in 1st Chronicles 17:10, God’s Message to David was,
“The Lord will build a house for you!”
And God did build a house for each one of us. Paul expressed his amazement that his followers had not realized their bodies were that house. As recorded in 1st Corinthians 6:19, Paul said,
“Do you not know that
your bodies are Temples of The Holy Spirit,
Who is in you,
Whom you have received from God?”
As recorded in John 14:23, Jesus said,
“Anyone who loves Me will obey My Teaching.
My Father will love them,
and we will come to them
and make our home with them!”
(Note: He said, not just “I,” but “we!”)
Wait, didn’t Jesus go to Heaven? Isn’t The Kingdom of God in that far off place called Heaven?
Again, let’s look at what Jesus said, as recorded in Luke 17:20-21:
For the Kingdom of God is within you!”
Points to Ponder
Look back through today’s post and say to God what He has said to you. Enjoy saying His Name, I AM:
I AM in You!
I will never leave You or forsake You!
I AM so thankful You want me to be with You! I want to be with You always!
I AM so thankful You see Me and I see You!
I AM so thankful You hear Me and I hear You!
I AM so thankful that because You live and I AM in You, I also live now and forever!
I AM so thankful You love Me. I love You!
I will obey You!
I AM so thankful You live inside of Me.
I AM so thankful You make Your Home with me! Welcome Home!
To listen to the audio version of this post, click here.
