He literally consumes us, and yet the more we let him have his way in our lives, the more uniquely ourselves (i.e. who he created us to be) we become. A win-win situation if I have ever known one. Keeping this in mind, let’s look at some words of Jesus in John 17:20-26 when he is praying not only for his disciples but for all who will ever believe in him. He says, “My prayer for all of them is that they will be one, just as you and I are one, Father—that just as you are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us, and the world will believe you sent me.” So he prayed that we would be in them. That we would be in the community of the Trinity—one with them. And then flowing from that community, we can be one with other followers of Jesus. So we only have true unity and community with other believers IN and THROUGH the community of the Trinity. When I walk into a room filled with other Christians, we all have instant community available to us (and I am talking about real true community stemming from God himself ) simply because of the Trinitarian Presence in, beside, and all around us. It is not something we create, but rather something that we enter into. And it is only made possible because of the community of the Trinity. Now a little note about pride. The funny thing about pride is that we think we can actually give something to God apart from him. We usually think that when we kneel down to pray, we are doing something for him, apart from him. We run about working and learning and even acting like Jesus because we think that we have something to offer to him, apart from him. We get very tired sometimes doing this, for this really is a hard life. But then we remember that “it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose,” (Philippians 2:13). We hear his precious whisper beckoning us to just be still and know that He is God. He says that his yoke is easy and his burden light, but this statement only has meaning insofar as we are completely abandoned and surrendered to him, holding nothing back from his Lordship and complete authority. For he also tells us that unless a seed first falls to the ground and dies, it cannot grow into any kind of beautiful harvest. Only when we lose our lives for his sake will we find it IN HIM (again, those words: in him). So at the end of the day, God calls us simply to be humble and willing-- willing to give him everything and humble enough to truly know that we do not change our insides. When we do begin to truly become more like Jesus from the inside out, we cannot take any pride
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in this at all. The true and right response is to fall to our knees in praise and thanksgiving, for thanksgiving prepares the way for the Lord! When we “sign up” for Christianity, we are signing up for him to make us perfect and holy just as he is perfect and holy. He will not stop until we are just that. None of us will reach that “perfection” here on earth, but he will make us perfect for eternity, and he wants to get as far as he can get here on Earth. Remember though, all we really do is allow the change, and all we can practically do is put on the clothes (or the mask) of Christ: serve others, be kind, submit to others, give up our rights for the sake of others, etc. We can also “cut off an arm” if it causes us to sin, or put to death the misdeeds of the flesh no matter how hard it is (for we are no longer slaves of sin with the Spirit working in us…don’t ever think you just have to sin. That is a lie no matter how convenient it is). When we step out in obedience and put on his clothes, he will slowly turn those clothes into our permanent, real outfit—our own skin and our own body. But we would be foolish to think that we made our own skin like that. All I can boast about is Jesus Christ as my Lord and his grace that changes me from the inside out. I have the freedom to just be a part of the community of the Trinity, enter into his love (the love of those three persons), and let him have his way in my life. Because God is love, I can only love when I am in him. I can only love when I allow his love to enter deep into my soul. True love is only found in him and every attempt to love apart from him is but a shadow, a bleak attempt at copying. How beautiful it is to be filled with his kind of love that is truly merciful, truly serving, truly submissive, truly kind, truly powerful, and truly HIM. But how can I get this? Only through intimacy and community with him, with the three persons of Him. Only through entering into that Triune circle of gushing life and love can I be connected to the true source of love. I have to get close to him and receive from the source of living water. The invitation is open, His hand is extended, He is waiting patiently. That love is quite simply the meaning of our existence. Natalie Wiesen, a native of Denver, graduated in 2006 from Stanford in Human Biology and did gymnastics all four years. She is now working with her husband for a non-profit ministry called Kingdom First Ministries. They help run Cardinal Life on campus and coordinate projects like 2nd Mile.
Vox Clara, Vol 1, Issue 1