Run and Run Fast

John 17:20-21

Have you discovered that often the person with all the answers is full of themself?  Could it be that they come across this way because they are so insecure?  In that I personified insecurity for much of my youth, that mindset became a way of life; just tell people what you know, and do it quickly.  It is one of those 16 lane highways in my mind that for many years I’ve worked on and asked God to bring down to a coon trail.  My counsel to any one who asks, is to run and run fast from anyone who has all the answers, and that holds double for answers about the spiritual life.  With that said, I want to ask you some questions, and I will give some insights into what I believe about this subject.

In verse 20, “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,” who are the two parties Jesus is referring to in his prayer?  It seems to this writer that “these only” is making reference to all those who became disciples of Jesus while He was in His earth suit, and we are told in 1 Corinthians 15:4-6, “that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.”  I believe the evidence is very strong that “these only” were people who became followers of Christ while He had flesh.  And that would make “those who will believe in me through their word,” you and me.

If we are in agreement on the above verse, look at what verse 21 has in store for us to ponder; “that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. (John 17:21 ESV)  Have you stopped and ask, what does being one with the Father and the Son mean?  It must go beyond, very far beyond Salvation, could it be that Salvation is only the starting point, yet for so many it can also be the finish line, they never look into the joy of being one with the Father and the Son.  Some may explore oneness when disaster comes into their lives, but after the storm has passed, it was not oneness they sought but relief.  But some have learned to walk with God, that is the desire of my heart, and I’ve come to understand that oneness with the Lord requires death to Bob’s learned habits of getting those needs met, but the problem is that I have to die to that independent life and learn to walk in the life I’ve had for my 43 years in Christ but have not taken advantage of. 

It is much like becoming one with your wife, God has said in Genesis 2:24 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”  They become one in thought and in spirit, and it is a beautiful thing to observe, but to this I can testify; Jan and I were what God said we were, but it was not evident to us or anyone else, because Jan’s husband was seeking marriage on his terms, it was all about his needs, and oneness only happened when I put Jan first.  So at salvation it is all there, but most of us are still trying to be independent.  This is what God has to say, “ But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.”  It seems to this writer it’s our choice, both in marriage and in our daily walk with the Lord.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice