Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. -John 17:3-5
This coming Sunday, and more directly, the following Sunday, March 17, we will be addressing the concept of abiding (remaining in and engaged with) in the truth we have heard from the beginning of our faith, abiding in the Father and the Son, abiding in the anointing of the Holy Spirit we received at our conversion (regeneration), and abiding specifically in Christ himself. It is a very clear and direct call from the apostle John that we should abide in these ways.
I start most of my days with what I call a “quiet time.” I still use that phrase because it is the designation we used in my college days with Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship. I wake relatively early, spend some time reading Scripture, then I exercise and during my breaks I memorize new Scripture or go over those I have already set to memory. I spend time in prayer and then I head to work. When I arrive at my office, I ask God to meet me there, to remain with me through the day and to give me wisdom to face the challenges that accompany pastoral ministry. It is a great way to start my day, but it is amazing how quickly my human nature tries to take over and set my course. I realize just how quickly I can forget whom I serve. If I am not careful to abide in Christ I find out that my own nature (or my enemy) can make the most of my lack of focus.
We do well to remember that it is a joy to serve the Lord and to abide with him. It is the great joy of my life that God has set me apart, called me by name, and given me the assurance that I will spend eternity with him and all those who have turned to him in faith. Life is hard, but what a tremendous joy it is to know and serve him— to live and breathe and enjoy life in him. “In your presence, O LORD, is fullness of joy!” (Psalm 16:11)
On Wednesday of this week, many in the Christian faith began an observance of Lent, starting with Ash Wednesday. Not everyone, of course. Many choose not to celebrate days or seasons in the church calendar, and that is perfectly acceptable—even preferable for those who cannot do so without finding in their celebration a thought or attitude of superiority or of having earned special favor from God. I choose to, in a non-legalistic fashion, utilize the Advent and Lenten seasons to help me fine tune my walk with Christ. This year marks the first year in which I did not write a Lenten Devotional since coming to LifePoint, and some have asked me why. The answer is that I just spent the past three months finishing up a dissertation, defending it, and completing re-writes on it, and to be perfectly honest, I was simply not up to another heavy dose of writing. Lord willing, I will get back at that task for Advent this year and Lent next year.
If you read the Scripture above from John’s Gospel, you see that Jesus enjoyed fellowship and abiding with the Father and longed to have it renewed again after his suffering. What a vision it will be to see Jesus and to enjoy the fellowship that he has experienced with the Father and the Spirit throughout eternity. I would highly suggest that, if you do not do so regularly already, you set aside intentional time every day to abide in Christ, to abide in God’s word, to abide in communicating with the Father through the Son via the Spirit in prayer. It will do you so much good, and will be excellent practice for what we will be doing joyfully throughout eternity!
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Jym