The Wholeness of God
.
John 14:5-14
5. Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?" 6. Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me. 7. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also; henceforth you know him and have seen him." 8. Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied." 9. Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father; how can you say, `Show us the Father'? 10. Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me; or else believe me for the sake of the works themselves. 12. "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I go to the Father. 13. Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son; 14. if you ask anything in my name, I will do it.
Philip kind of summed things up, didn’t he? “Show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied.” How often do we limit God by asking for “only a little” of what he can give us? Just do this one thing, and I’ll believe. Just allow that and I’ll know you’re for real. I can remember when I was little, praying that my 3rd sister would be a brother! Boy was I mad at God when I found out he didn’t answer my prayer. But what he did do is give me a lovely, warm, loving, and amazing member of my family! My youngest sister is incredible! And so is God! He gave me my brother a year later! Maybe even then he was laying the ground work for me to understand that HE was in charge! And it’s a good thing, because I would have missed out on knowing and loving my sister—and her husband, and her four beautiful children!
Of course, Jesus is speaking here on a bit higher level than whether or not our childish prayers will be answered. Jesus was and continues to be the only answer we need! If we would only recognize that! He offered his beloved disciples not only comfort but a promise—that they would never be alone, even after he went back to heaven. They would have the gift of the third person of God—they would be the first recipients of the “wholeness of God” through receiving the Holy Spirit. Oh, how I long to have been in his presence, even for just a minute! I would have settled on being the woman who touched the hem of his robe! Surely the disciples were reassured after Jesus spoke to them about all this.
“If you ask anything in my name, I will do it.! That doesn’t mean he’ll give you a baby brother when you ask for it! It doesn’t mean you’ll hit the winning lottery numbers just because you really need the money and beg for a chance to win! It’s about hiding the words of Christ in our hearts. It’s about fully grasping the unity of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. I think God is so big, he couldn’t be contained as one entity! His love and power and might are so expansive, he needed more than one way to manifest them! And Jesus reassured his friends that God would allow them to continue without his physical presence in their lives. Because He was sending to them another part of himself – the part they would need to sustain them and empower them and embolden them to continue the work that Christ has started on earth.
How does all this apply to me as I head off to work today? Well, maybe it means that I allow God to work in me as I walk in the front door and “put on a happy face” as I pass the offices of my coworkers. Perhaps it means I take a phone call from someone who really annoys me, but is clearly in need of someone to “vent” to. Maybe I just do the best job I can do, and give 100% to the tasks I’m assigned and thank God for an opportunity to use by abilities to serve children in need. I don’t know if that’s enough. But some days that’s all I can do! It’s about an attitude, and intention, and really, it’s about discipleship. I choose every day, every minute, if I’ll continue the ministry of Jesus Christ, or not. I can live through and with the Holy Spirit in my life, or I can deny the amazing gift and limit myself, and my effectiveness in ministering to others in the world.
I hope today you embrace the “wholeness of God” as you go out into the world. And that you do great works in the name of Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit.
Mary
