What Did Jesus Do?
“I made known to them your name…
that the love with which you loved me may be in them…”
John 17.26
Some of my contemporaries would probably tell you that love-ins were invented by hippies in the 60s for the purpose of peacefully meditating and grooving on one another, or, alternatively, as a form of peaceful mass protest. The truth is, love-ins have a much older history. In fact, Jesus prayed for a love-in, so to speak.
But any grooving done by Christ’s followers would not have been on one another, but rather on the Father. For it was the eternal and surpassing love of the Father for the Son that Jesus prayed to be in his disciples. The key to being filled with the Father’s love was to first have Jesus residing in one’s heart. Actually, it is all but impossible to make a distinction between Jesus and the Father’s love, because Christ was the incarnation of God’s agape.
I believe it is of inestimable significance that, on the night before he was crucified, the Lord’s chief concern was that his followers should be filled with love, the Father’s love. Think about it, when Jesus considered what would best serve those who would carry on his ministry, and build his Church, he asked the Father to fill them with love. Jesus could have asked for courage. He could have asked for faith. He could have asked for patience. He could have asked for wisdom. He asked for a love-n.
What does this mean to those who follow Jesus today? Well, I believe it should put petitioning the Father to fill us with his love right at the top of our prayer list. I mean, what better guide and instruction for life and faith and prayer is there? This love, this agape, abides along with faith and hope, and is the greatest of the three (see 1Corinthians 13.13). There is absolutely nothing more powerful in the entire Cosmos. Nothing. Take all the energy and power of all the billions of stars in the sky, and it is nothing when we compare it to the power of God’s agape love.
By the power of his love the Father created all things. By his the power of his love the Father redeemed all who will be saved. By the power of his love the Father is sustaining the universe until the day of the Lord’s return. Think the world is in bad shape? Try imagining what it would be like if the love of God departed and the earth was left on its own. Why, it would be, if you’ll permit, hell.
Well, having said that Christians should make asking the Father to fill us with his love our top prayer request, I want to say that I am convinced this petition remains a priority for the Son, even as he has returned to the Father’s side. That’s right, Jesus still prays love-in to all who call upon the Father in his name.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Jesus Asked To Be One In Glory With All Who Believe
What Did Jesus Do?
“I do not ask for these only,
but also for those who will believe in me through their word.
John 17.20
Jesus had prayed to the Father many times, and many times in his prayers he had asked on behalf of his disciples. But, as the hour of his crucifixion drew near, the Lord had his eye on a broad and distant people far beyond the limit of those who had followed him during his two-plus years of ministry—the Son interceded with the Father on behalf of all those who would ever come to believe.
The Son had not been sent merely to impact the lives of a few who were fortunate enough to be living in First Century Palestine. No, Jesus came for the sake of all believers in all places and at all times. He had prayed for his disciples, his “called out ones” (see WDJD for 6/15/11); now he would pray for the ones whom his disciples would be commissioned to go and serve (Matthew 28.19-20). Even as it was the Lord's greatest joy that he was one with the Father (John 10.30), and his deepest desire was that his disciples would be one in, through, and with him (John 17.11), he would not settle for anything less than that all believers be one, in order that the world would believe he had been sent by the Father (John 17.21-23).
One, as it turns out, is the farthest thing from the “loneliest number.” In Christ, all become one to the 1x1000000.....power (11000000...)! Far from loneliness, this is close and limitless fellowship, now and forever. And, though in this world those in fellowship with the Son, and with one another in and through him, will face tribulation, there is something “out of this world” they will come to know and experience through him who overcame the world—glory.
For the prayer of the Son was not for mere fellowship for his followers, but for such intimate fellowship with him and the Father that they too would be partakers of the very glory of God which has existed since before the foundations of the world were laid (John 17.24). While it is the world's practice to jealously guard love, it is the Father's heart that the Son should make the his love known, and available to all who believe in the only true God, and in Jesus Christ whom he sent.
Those who glory most in the things of the world are typically those who find it hardest to believe, to accept that the Father loves the world with a completely different and surpassing love in and through the Son. It is the task of those who are one with Jesus to make this love known, not just by telling others about it, but much more by showering it upon others, so that the world may know the love with which the Father loves the Son, and that in fact the Son himself dwells within his disciples to this day, and forever, which is nothing short of glory.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
“I do not ask for these only,
but also for those who will believe in me through their word.
John 17.20
Jesus had prayed to the Father many times, and many times in his prayers he had asked on behalf of his disciples. But, as the hour of his crucifixion drew near, the Lord had his eye on a broad and distant people far beyond the limit of those who had followed him during his two-plus years of ministry—the Son interceded with the Father on behalf of all those who would ever come to believe.
The Son had not been sent merely to impact the lives of a few who were fortunate enough to be living in First Century Palestine. No, Jesus came for the sake of all believers in all places and at all times. He had prayed for his disciples, his “called out ones” (see WDJD for 6/15/11); now he would pray for the ones whom his disciples would be commissioned to go and serve (Matthew 28.19-20). Even as it was the Lord's greatest joy that he was one with the Father (John 10.30), and his deepest desire was that his disciples would be one in, through, and with him (John 17.11), he would not settle for anything less than that all believers be one, in order that the world would believe he had been sent by the Father (John 17.21-23).
One, as it turns out, is the farthest thing from the “loneliest number.” In Christ, all become one to the 1x1000000.....power (11000000...)! Far from loneliness, this is close and limitless fellowship, now and forever. And, though in this world those in fellowship with the Son, and with one another in and through him, will face tribulation, there is something “out of this world” they will come to know and experience through him who overcame the world—glory.
For the prayer of the Son was not for mere fellowship for his followers, but for such intimate fellowship with him and the Father that they too would be partakers of the very glory of God which has existed since before the foundations of the world were laid (John 17.24). While it is the world's practice to jealously guard love, it is the Father's heart that the Son should make the his love known, and available to all who believe in the only true God, and in Jesus Christ whom he sent.
Those who glory most in the things of the world are typically those who find it hardest to believe, to accept that the Father loves the world with a completely different and surpassing love in and through the Son. It is the task of those who are one with Jesus to make this love known, not just by telling others about it, but much more by showering it upon others, so that the world may know the love with which the Father loves the Son, and that in fact the Son himself dwells within his disciples to this day, and forever, which is nothing short of glory.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
A Special Note: At "Sea"
I am afraid I have had to "ship out" with a band of pirates in search of the Black Pearl this summer. Which is to say, I'll be working for the next six weeks on staff at our local Boy Scout Camp, where our theme is borrowed from a certain film series with which I trust all are familiar.
Sadly, my opportunities to get to sit and write, much less access a computer and the internet, will be greatly restricted. I hope to post as much as possible, but apologize that this blog may be comparatively quiet until we "return to port" on July 30.
Fell free to explore the archives, or start a comment thread on any of the posts. For now, may the peace of God's Shalom be with you.
Sadly, my opportunities to get to sit and write, much less access a computer and the internet, will be greatly restricted. I hope to post as much as possible, but apologize that this blog may be comparatively quiet until we "return to port" on July 30.
Fell free to explore the archives, or start a comment thread on any of the posts. For now, may the peace of God's Shalom be with you.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Jesus Sent The Called Out Ones Into The World
What Did Jesus Do?
“As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.”
John 17.18
It was the Father's plan that the Son call out his own from the world (John 17.6; see WDJD for 6/14/11). So it was that Christ's followers would become known as the ekklesia—the “called out ones” (in English, “the Church”). As the Son was not of the world, but of heaven, so too the ones he called out would not call the world their home, but would desire and belong to a heavenly country (see Hebrews 11.13-16). Yet, just as the Father had sent the Son into the world to accomplish a mission, Jesus sent the called out ones into the world on a mission.
For this reason Jesus prayed a very special prayer, often referred to as the High Priestly Prayer, for his Church, which would be an apostolic church, which is to say a delegate body, a band of messengers, a group sent forth under orders. In the prayer the Son asked the Father for two things in particular for his Church: protection, and sanctification.
For as long as he was with them, Jesus guarded and protected his followers, keeping them in the name he shared with the Father (John 17.12). And this protection was critical, for the world hated all who received the words Jesus spoke (John 17.14). Knowing he would soon be leaving his disciples, the Son asked the Father to continue to keep them in the name, and to guard them from the devil (the “evil one”) while they remained in the world on the mission the Lord had given them (John 17.15).
That mission, that message which the Church would bear into the world, demanded that Christ's followers be sanctified, that is, set apart and perfected for holy work. And Jesus asked the Father to sanctify his disciples in the truth, which is nothing less than the Word of God (John 17.17). For their sake, and not for the world, Jesus consecrated himself, set himself apart for the most holy work of God, so that in truth his Church should also be sanctified (John 17.19), for its most holy work in the world.
So it is that the Church, though not of the world, has a singular mission in the world, which is, in the name of the Father and the Son, to be sent to proclaim the Word of God. This Gospel, the Good News, still sanctifies those whom the Father is calling out of the world through the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. A church which separates itself totally from the world cannot be the Church whose mission is to be sent ever and again to the world. No one who follows the Son can be so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good to the Father. If we are called out, we can be sure it is in order that we may be protected and sanctified, and then be sent back into the world, in Jesus' name.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
“As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.”
John 17.18
It was the Father's plan that the Son call out his own from the world (John 17.6; see WDJD for 6/14/11). So it was that Christ's followers would become known as the ekklesia—the “called out ones” (in English, “the Church”). As the Son was not of the world, but of heaven, so too the ones he called out would not call the world their home, but would desire and belong to a heavenly country (see Hebrews 11.13-16). Yet, just as the Father had sent the Son into the world to accomplish a mission, Jesus sent the called out ones into the world on a mission.
For this reason Jesus prayed a very special prayer, often referred to as the High Priestly Prayer, for his Church, which would be an apostolic church, which is to say a delegate body, a band of messengers, a group sent forth under orders. In the prayer the Son asked the Father for two things in particular for his Church: protection, and sanctification.
For as long as he was with them, Jesus guarded and protected his followers, keeping them in the name he shared with the Father (John 17.12). And this protection was critical, for the world hated all who received the words Jesus spoke (John 17.14). Knowing he would soon be leaving his disciples, the Son asked the Father to continue to keep them in the name, and to guard them from the devil (the “evil one”) while they remained in the world on the mission the Lord had given them (John 17.15).
That mission, that message which the Church would bear into the world, demanded that Christ's followers be sanctified, that is, set apart and perfected for holy work. And Jesus asked the Father to sanctify his disciples in the truth, which is nothing less than the Word of God (John 17.17). For their sake, and not for the world, Jesus consecrated himself, set himself apart for the most holy work of God, so that in truth his Church should also be sanctified (John 17.19), for its most holy work in the world.
So it is that the Church, though not of the world, has a singular mission in the world, which is, in the name of the Father and the Son, to be sent to proclaim the Word of God. This Gospel, the Good News, still sanctifies those whom the Father is calling out of the world through the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. A church which separates itself totally from the world cannot be the Church whose mission is to be sent ever and again to the world. No one who follows the Son can be so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good to the Father. If we are called out, we can be sure it is in order that we may be protected and sanctified, and then be sent back into the world, in Jesus' name.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Jesus Exposed The Father's Name
What Did Jesus Do?
“I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me...”
John 17.6
Everyone loves a good expose'. Come on, admit it, you've watched a little reality T.V. yourself, haven't you? I confess I have. Unfortunately, the genre's stock-in-trade tends to the tawdry and the titillating. What may be the worst thing about so much of today's popular expose's are that they pass off so-called “reality” as truth, when often nothing could be farther from it. There is a lot more deceit and illusion than truth in what many accept as reality nowadays. In marked contrast, the life of the Son was reality worth seeing, and his expose' of the Truth was captivating. How favored were the few to whom the truth was revealed, to whom Jesus exposed the Father's name.
While so-called reality television strives to expose its version of the truth to the whole world, the Son had quite a different audience in mind for his expose'. He would reveal, expose to view, manifest the Father's name only to those whom the Father had given him out of the world. They would eventually come to be known as the ekklesia-“the called out ones,” in our modern tongue—the Church. They were the receivers of the Word, possessors of the knowledge that everything of the Son had come from the Father (John 17.7). All the words that the Father had given to Jesus, Jesus dutifully passed on to those called out of the world, so that, by receiving these words, they would know the truth, and believe that Jesus had been sent by the Father (John 17.8).
You see, the world, so enamored, even back in ancient times, with its own take on reality, its own version of the truth, has always been totally deceived. This is to say that the world has forever, or at least since the Fall, embraced lies as truth, and illusion as reality. Jesus came into the world in order to call those the Father had given him out of the world, so that they might be exposed to the truth. For, in fact, the basis of all truth is the name which Jesus manifested, the name of the Father, then name shared by the Son—I Am (Hebrew-Yahweh). As it turns out, Shakespeare was wrong, there is much in a name, or, more properly, there is everything in the name.
To be exposed to the truth in the midst of a world totally invested in lies is not at all an easy thing. Jesus knew it would be the reason his followers, his Church, would face tribulation in the world (see John 16.33). So the Son prayed to the Father, not for the world, but for the ones called out of the world, for they were the Father's, his children, if you will (John 17.9). And the request of the Son to the Father was that he would keep his own in his name, that they might be one, even as the Father and the Son are one (John 17.11).
What it comes down to is this, the Church, if it would be worthy of that name, must keep the name, and not just keep it, but manifest it, reveal it, expose it in the world to those who are still being called out of the world by the name. That's what Jesus did.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
“I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me...”
John 17.6
Everyone loves a good expose'. Come on, admit it, you've watched a little reality T.V. yourself, haven't you? I confess I have. Unfortunately, the genre's stock-in-trade tends to the tawdry and the titillating. What may be the worst thing about so much of today's popular expose's are that they pass off so-called “reality” as truth, when often nothing could be farther from it. There is a lot more deceit and illusion than truth in what many accept as reality nowadays. In marked contrast, the life of the Son was reality worth seeing, and his expose' of the Truth was captivating. How favored were the few to whom the truth was revealed, to whom Jesus exposed the Father's name.
While so-called reality television strives to expose its version of the truth to the whole world, the Son had quite a different audience in mind for his expose'. He would reveal, expose to view, manifest the Father's name only to those whom the Father had given him out of the world. They would eventually come to be known as the ekklesia-“the called out ones,” in our modern tongue—the Church. They were the receivers of the Word, possessors of the knowledge that everything of the Son had come from the Father (John 17.7). All the words that the Father had given to Jesus, Jesus dutifully passed on to those called out of the world, so that, by receiving these words, they would know the truth, and believe that Jesus had been sent by the Father (John 17.8).
You see, the world, so enamored, even back in ancient times, with its own take on reality, its own version of the truth, has always been totally deceived. This is to say that the world has forever, or at least since the Fall, embraced lies as truth, and illusion as reality. Jesus came into the world in order to call those the Father had given him out of the world, so that they might be exposed to the truth. For, in fact, the basis of all truth is the name which Jesus manifested, the name of the Father, then name shared by the Son—I Am (Hebrew-Yahweh). As it turns out, Shakespeare was wrong, there is much in a name, or, more properly, there is everything in the name.
To be exposed to the truth in the midst of a world totally invested in lies is not at all an easy thing. Jesus knew it would be the reason his followers, his Church, would face tribulation in the world (see John 16.33). So the Son prayed to the Father, not for the world, but for the ones called out of the world, for they were the Father's, his children, if you will (John 17.9). And the request of the Son to the Father was that he would keep his own in his name, that they might be one, even as the Father and the Son are one (John 17.11).
What it comes down to is this, the Church, if it would be worthy of that name, must keep the name, and not just keep it, but manifest it, reveal it, expose it in the world to those who are still being called out of the world by the name. That's what Jesus did.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Monday, June 13, 2011
Jesus Earned A Return To Glory
What Did Jesus Do?
“I have accomplished the work that you gave me to do, glorifying you on earth.
Now, Father, glorify me in your presence...”
John 17.4-5
There is a credit card that likes to suggest that by using it we can come pretty darn close to a “Priceless” experience by buying “everything else” that's necessary for a priceless moment to happen. Of course, there's a high price that comes with buying the “everything else.” While the world would put a price tag on everything, there are truly some things that money can't buy. Like our salvation. And glory, who can by glory? Well, Jesus paid the price for our salvation, and by doing so earned a return to glory.
Jesus had been sent into the world by his Father in order to complete a mission which had a price tag greater than all of the wealth in the world put together could ever afford. It was a simple mission, yet immense and detailed. There were thirty-some years of tasks that the Father required to be done, including one final, awful work to be wrought on the cross, before the Son could send the signal, “Mission accomplished.” Every step along the long journey to the mission's end, each thought, word, and action of the Son, all accrued to the glory of the Father. By completing all the work the Father had given him on earth, the Son earned the right to request that he might come home, and once again know the glory of being in the Father's presence.
As priceless as our salvation is, I believe the fact that the Son earned a place for us in the presence of his Father's glory may be even more priceless, if there could be such a thing as degrees of pricelessness. For the glory to which the Son returned is a glory Father and Son are pleased to share with all the Father's children. What price could you put on that? How much credit would that take? Since every line of credit has a limit, there is no way anyone could ever afford to buy themselves a little piece of truly priceless glory. The truth is, the Son had to pay the full price for our salvation up front, so to speak. But, here's the awesome thing, the Father give's us all the credit the Son earned, which is how we get to experience the glory!
And we are not talking about just any old glory. This is pure, heavenly glory as it existed in eternity past, before the world was ever created. That's glory you can't hardly begin to describe, much less put a price on. And all whom Christ died for have a personal place in the presence of this glory. Kind of makes you wish you could just go there right now, doesn't it?
I am sure Jesus wished he could have returned to the glory without going all the way to the cross, in fact I know he did (see Mark 14.36). Yet, the Son knew that the mission would not be accomplished until all his work of glorifying the Father on earth was completed. Now, what do you think we should be doing with our time on earth? Not earning our way to heaven certainly, we'd already said that cost more than we could ever pay, and Jesus has already paid the price for us. But we do have the opportunity and the privilege to live in such a way that the Father is still glorified on earth. The only way to do this is to live according to the example of the life of Christ, to ask each day, “What did Jesus do”, and then go and accomplish the work that the Father has given unto us.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
“I have accomplished the work that you gave me to do, glorifying you on earth.
Now, Father, glorify me in your presence...”
John 17.4-5
There is a credit card that likes to suggest that by using it we can come pretty darn close to a “Priceless” experience by buying “everything else” that's necessary for a priceless moment to happen. Of course, there's a high price that comes with buying the “everything else.” While the world would put a price tag on everything, there are truly some things that money can't buy. Like our salvation. And glory, who can by glory? Well, Jesus paid the price for our salvation, and by doing so earned a return to glory.
Jesus had been sent into the world by his Father in order to complete a mission which had a price tag greater than all of the wealth in the world put together could ever afford. It was a simple mission, yet immense and detailed. There were thirty-some years of tasks that the Father required to be done, including one final, awful work to be wrought on the cross, before the Son could send the signal, “Mission accomplished.” Every step along the long journey to the mission's end, each thought, word, and action of the Son, all accrued to the glory of the Father. By completing all the work the Father had given him on earth, the Son earned the right to request that he might come home, and once again know the glory of being in the Father's presence.
As priceless as our salvation is, I believe the fact that the Son earned a place for us in the presence of his Father's glory may be even more priceless, if there could be such a thing as degrees of pricelessness. For the glory to which the Son returned is a glory Father and Son are pleased to share with all the Father's children. What price could you put on that? How much credit would that take? Since every line of credit has a limit, there is no way anyone could ever afford to buy themselves a little piece of truly priceless glory. The truth is, the Son had to pay the full price for our salvation up front, so to speak. But, here's the awesome thing, the Father give's us all the credit the Son earned, which is how we get to experience the glory!
And we are not talking about just any old glory. This is pure, heavenly glory as it existed in eternity past, before the world was ever created. That's glory you can't hardly begin to describe, much less put a price on. And all whom Christ died for have a personal place in the presence of this glory. Kind of makes you wish you could just go there right now, doesn't it?
I am sure Jesus wished he could have returned to the glory without going all the way to the cross, in fact I know he did (see Mark 14.36). Yet, the Son knew that the mission would not be accomplished until all his work of glorifying the Father on earth was completed. Now, what do you think we should be doing with our time on earth? Not earning our way to heaven certainly, we'd already said that cost more than we could ever pay, and Jesus has already paid the price for us. But we do have the opportunity and the privilege to live in such a way that the Father is still glorified on earth. The only way to do this is to live according to the example of the life of Christ, to ask each day, “What did Jesus do”, and then go and accomplish the work that the Father has given unto us.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Jesus Proclaimed Eternal Life
What Did Jesus Do?
“And this is eternal life...”
John 17.3
To put a different, and far more redemptive, spin on the age-old question, “How do you keep an idiot in suspense,” how do you keep a sinner in suspense? Keep eternal life a secret. Of course, keeping sinners in suspense is an extremely cruel thing to do, I can only imagine Satan, and those who are under his influence, taking pleasure in it. Jesus certainly was not cruel, even having compassion on legions of unclean spirits (see Mark 5.1-13). Rather than keep a world full of sinners in suspense Jesus proclaimed eternal life.
Are you, like so many believers, looking forward to eternity? If you are, you've been missing out on the indescribable joy of experiencing eternal life right now. Did you perhaps never read John 17.3? The Lord did not talk about what eternal life might be. Neither did Christ tell his followers what eternal life would be. Jesus, as those who know him would expect, told it like it is, as in “This IS eternal life...” Not wanting to be cruel myself, I'll keep you in suspense no longer and tell you that eternal life is all about knowing, not doing.
You see, most people today, as in the days of Jesus, have it in their head that they have to do something to get in on eternal life. Take a certain rich young ruler. He came and inquired of the Lord about what had to be done to inherit eternal life. Jesus replied by pointing to the commandments, and the young man affirmed that he had kept them all from childhood. In that case, the Lord advised, there was just one more thing the man needed to do—give away all his wealth (see Luke 18.18-30).
It would be wrong to conclude from this that a vow of poverty is required for anyone to qualify for heaven. Again, eternal life is all about knowing, not doing. By not doing what the Lord said was necessary, and instead turning and sadly walking away, the man revealed that he knew the power of wealth in the world, perhaps even felt toward his riches as one feels towards one's god. But the young rule didn't know eternal life, even when it was, so to speak, staring him in the face. This was in sharp contrast to Peter and the other disciples, who knew what was at stake when Jesus called them and said, “Follow me,” for they had left all for the opportunity to know the Lord.
Perhaps it seems somehow too simple to us, so we overlook it, sure that there must be more to eternal life than knowing. We may want some bigger, grander act to be performed, even as Naaman was rather let down by what Elisha told him was necessary for him to be healed of his leprosy (see 2Kings 5.9-12). But Jesus was quite clear: eternal life is knowing. Knowing? Knowing what? Well, it's actually not at all about knowing what, but knowing who.
To experience eternal life, and experience it right here, right now, we must know that the one whom Jesus addressed as “Father” is the only true God, and we must know Jesus Christ as the one the Father sent, as the Son. Know them and know eternal life—live the eternal life right now in and through the knowing. There is absolutely no reason to keep anyone in suspense a moment longer. In fact, the core of our calling as Christ's disciples is to share him with others, to introduce them to the Father and the Son whom we know. This is the essence of the Gospel which Jesus proclaimed, even eternal life.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
“And this is eternal life...”
John 17.3
To put a different, and far more redemptive, spin on the age-old question, “How do you keep an idiot in suspense,” how do you keep a sinner in suspense? Keep eternal life a secret. Of course, keeping sinners in suspense is an extremely cruel thing to do, I can only imagine Satan, and those who are under his influence, taking pleasure in it. Jesus certainly was not cruel, even having compassion on legions of unclean spirits (see Mark 5.1-13). Rather than keep a world full of sinners in suspense Jesus proclaimed eternal life.
Are you, like so many believers, looking forward to eternity? If you are, you've been missing out on the indescribable joy of experiencing eternal life right now. Did you perhaps never read John 17.3? The Lord did not talk about what eternal life might be. Neither did Christ tell his followers what eternal life would be. Jesus, as those who know him would expect, told it like it is, as in “This IS eternal life...” Not wanting to be cruel myself, I'll keep you in suspense no longer and tell you that eternal life is all about knowing, not doing.
You see, most people today, as in the days of Jesus, have it in their head that they have to do something to get in on eternal life. Take a certain rich young ruler. He came and inquired of the Lord about what had to be done to inherit eternal life. Jesus replied by pointing to the commandments, and the young man affirmed that he had kept them all from childhood. In that case, the Lord advised, there was just one more thing the man needed to do—give away all his wealth (see Luke 18.18-30).
It would be wrong to conclude from this that a vow of poverty is required for anyone to qualify for heaven. Again, eternal life is all about knowing, not doing. By not doing what the Lord said was necessary, and instead turning and sadly walking away, the man revealed that he knew the power of wealth in the world, perhaps even felt toward his riches as one feels towards one's god. But the young rule didn't know eternal life, even when it was, so to speak, staring him in the face. This was in sharp contrast to Peter and the other disciples, who knew what was at stake when Jesus called them and said, “Follow me,” for they had left all for the opportunity to know the Lord.
Perhaps it seems somehow too simple to us, so we overlook it, sure that there must be more to eternal life than knowing. We may want some bigger, grander act to be performed, even as Naaman was rather let down by what Elisha told him was necessary for him to be healed of his leprosy (see 2Kings 5.9-12). But Jesus was quite clear: eternal life is knowing. Knowing? Knowing what? Well, it's actually not at all about knowing what, but knowing who.
To experience eternal life, and experience it right here, right now, we must know that the one whom Jesus addressed as “Father” is the only true God, and we must know Jesus Christ as the one the Father sent, as the Son. Know them and know eternal life—live the eternal life right now in and through the knowing. There is absolutely no reason to keep anyone in suspense a moment longer. In fact, the core of our calling as Christ's disciples is to share him with others, to introduce them to the Father and the Son whom we know. This is the essence of the Gospel which Jesus proclaimed, even eternal life.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
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