John 14 (Fourteen) At Home

Good morning

For as long as it takes we are going to study the gospel of John chapters fourteen to seventeen. Some of it will be what I have already written and some will be new. Therefore it may sometimes appear that I leave off in the middle of a topic to be continued, since I have reached my daily word count limit. We will also return to placing a blog posting daily for the time being.

In order to follow this you ought to have read from the first posting in the series – John 14 (One).

“Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him,” (John 14:21).

Who is Jesus talking about here? He is talking about individuals. He is not just talking to the Disciples, but is throwing it wide open. He is also not just talking to the church or to a particular nation. Every individual is responsible and must have the opportunity. He first says the individual must have His commands. Where do they get the commands from? First of all the commands (not only the Ten Commandments) are written in the Bible, so it is necessary to know the Bible because the commands must be in their heart to be able to obey them effectively. Secondly the individual must be in touch with the Holy Spirit to be able to identify the opportunity presented by Him to obey the commands.

If the Lord sees a heart laden with knowledge of His commands and a readiness to obey wherever the opportunity occurs, He knows that this person loves Him. They care enough about the Lord to do that which matters to Him. Jesus then promised that both He and the Father will love the individual (what an honour) and then the best follows – He will show himself to them.

In marriage spouses declare their love to each other and then show their bodies to one another. The more their love for each other grows, and in the process their trust towards one another, the more of their deepest secrets they will reveal.

How glorious it will be when Jesus will hold back none of His deepest secrets to the individual who has earned His love and trust through being obedient to His every command – never causing Jesus to be ashamed of them and often causing Him to boast about them in the heavenlies - “Then the Lord said to Satan, ‘Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?’” (Job 1:8).

“Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, ‘But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?’ Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching.”

What Jesus implied in His answer to Judas’ question is that those who do not obey His teaching are those who do not love Him, and are therefore the ‘world’ Judas was talking about. Like we said earlier, why would Jesus reveal Himself to those whom He cannot trust?

Who is the world Judas is talking about? Does it not maybe include the disobedient church? Is a disobedient church not like the world – without love towards the Lord?

If we, however, obey His teaching, doing what He tells us to do, we love Him and both Him and Abba Father (Daddy God) will make home with us. Take a few minutes to consider this statement. What is a home? Is it not a place of intimacy where fellowship is relaxed and transparent, a place where we feel comfortable? Is home not a place where we can kick off our shoes and be ourselves? If the Lord Jesus and Father make their home with us, would they not also want to ‘kick off their shoes’ and relax, being themselves? Maybe we can make a list of the qualities of a home and, as we make it, picture Abba Father and Jesus in it.

A home

·         Is a secure and safe place.

·         Has food and physical care.

·         Has fun, joking, fellowship and playing.

·         Has support of the members among one another.

·         Has open and transparent communication.

·         Has unity.

·         Is a fortress against enemies.

·         Has protective and caring parents.

·         Has obedient children.

·         Is a place where one can be yourself.

·         Is a place where conflict is a form of developing character and is handled lovingly.

Does our spiritual home enjoy these characteristics in both directions, in other words do we for example only expect protection from the Lord, or do we also protect His honour in both the physical and spiritual realm, or does our lifestyle maybe cause the world and evil spirits to ridicule God? Can God relax in our presence, or must He constantly withdraw due to our sin and attitude of pride?

Lord, teach me what to do to make you feel welcome in my heart.

Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

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