"For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth." ~ Deuteronomy14:2

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Pleasant Stone Devotional Meditation: April 19


"... I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it; that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them" ~ John 17:26

"When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden, into which he entered..."  This "red stone" contains facets of truth so deep we can perhaps not penetrate them fully in this life.  Jesus finished His high priestly prayer with the words above on the night before they killed him, and they still hung glowing in the night air among the leaves above their heads as they walked toward the Garden of Gethsemane. And they still hang glowing above our heads now that He has fulfilled and is still fulfilling them.


"... I have declared unto them thy name ..." Jesus came to declare the Father to us. "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him."  " ... and will declare ..." Jesus Christ is still declaring the name of the Father to us, His disciples of today. And He is doing it for the same reason He did it then. "... that the love wherewith thou hast loved me, may be in them, and I in them."  Above everything, Jesus wanted and still wants us to know , to experience, the love of the Father just exactly as He experiences it. He knows the Father's heart. And knowing it, He also knows that if only He can show us what it is really like there, we will be forever finished with fear and anxiety and dread. The very last line of His prayer on the night before the crucifixion is the key to our being able to experience the Father's love for us.

He said He had already declared this love and would continue to declare it, even to us. He does this by His indwelling presence within us. "... that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them" He is love. And --

"... There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear..."

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