Reading: John 17 with a focus on John 17:20-26
When both my girls were babies they had a funny way of studying people and their actions. They would literally stare at people to the point that some would mention that they made them feel uncomfortable. A lady mentioned to me at one point, "It is like she can see right through me!" And even now during their preschool ages I catch them on occassion studying people. What is interesting now is that they can talk and when we get in the car or house or wherever we may have the opportunity to be "behind closed doors," they then express their thoughts about their observations. Usually these thoughts come in forms of questions where they are being very inquisitive about the person. I have noticed lately that they are starting to add sympathetic feelings to their observations and it makes me happy that they have developed to this stage.Jesus prayed for himself, the disciples and finally for us in chapter 17 of John. You can really sympathize with Jesus as He pours His heart out to the Father in front of the disciples. I can just imagine Him looking at each disciple as He prays longing for them to experience the oneness with the Father as He experiences it. The desire that Jesus has for believers is for us to become one body and that one body is the bride of Christ. When we are married to Jesus at the great wedding we will become one with Him. However, we have the opportunity now to become one with each other through His Holy Spirit that lives within each believer. And it is through the Holy Spirit that we can also experience the oneness that Jesus had with the Father. That is what I feel Jesus was longing for the disciples and even us today to grasp. The oneness we can obtain with each other.
It's amazing how when you fellowship with other believers that you see the Holy Spirit and the different parts of His fruit, as well as, the different gifts given to us by the Spirit at work. We begin to learn from each other as we observe the actions of the Spirit working within our lives. And through this observation we draw more of God's goodness out of our own hearts and begin to see the need to deny self. When we fellowship with other believers we become encouraged in the Spirit and we lift each other up. Our prayers become one, our desires become one, and our hearts become one because we are drawing from the Spirit of the One. We are drawing from the Spirit of Jesus.
Have you forsaken the fellowship with other believers? If so, I hope you will not let a moment go by before you make arrangements to get back into the fellowship. I pray that you will have the desire to be with other believers so they may encourage you in the Lord. May you feel the urgency that Jesus felt to pray earnestly to the Father longing for the experience of being one with fellow believers and ultimately with Him.
Prayer: Father, I, like Jesus, want to experience the oneness that can only be experienced through fellowshiping with other believers, who have Your Spirit working within their lives. Lead me in discovering this oneness and lead me in discovering more about You and Your Son, Jesus. Amen.
