“I have given these people the glory that you gave me so that they can be one, just as you and I are one” (John 17:22, NCV).
Jesus told us that the very most important reasons we are alive are these: to love God and to love our neighbor. We are not talking about any ordinary love here. He gave us some pretty tall orders for the caliber of loving He is looking for in our lives… “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matt. 5:44, NKJV).
In other words, He mandated the impossible. Impossible – humanly speaking, that is. You and I just don’t have what it takes in our own natural selves to love the way He does.
How, then, are we to live up to such heavenly standards?
We find the answer above, in our intro verse for today. We can walk in divine levels of both love and unity. We can, because Jesus gives us His glory. The ability to extend love supernaturally – both to our fellow believers and to those that mistreat us – is a gift of sheer grace. He does it for us, and He does it through us.
What is this glory that He speaks of giving to us? It’s His love glory. It’s an impartation to us of what flows between Jesus and Daddy God. Consider this, just four verses later: “I showed them what you are like, and I will show them again. Then they will have the same love that you have for me, and I will live in them” (v. 26).
This is the result of receiving the gift of Jesus’ love glory. We come to know what Daddy is like. We learn, at a deep heart level, that He is absolute, overflowing love. As we receive this life-altering, soul-transforming revelation, the result is what Jesus predicted in this Scripture: we will have the same love. We will drink it in. We will live in it. We will dispense it in abundance.
Only Holy Spirit can do this in our hearts. Now, I am not saying that the process is quick or easy. On the contrary! In these few verses, Jesus has summed up for us what our life-long spiritual growth process is going to look like… receiving more and more of His love glory in gradual increments… and becoming His vessels to pour it out to others. (If we are willing to pay the costly price to learn to love this way!)
In other words, “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:18, ESV).
It comes from the Spirit. This is His majestic, gradual work in our hearts. As daily we gaze on His love glory, He dynamically alters the inside of us. As daily we yield to His reworking of our souls, He does it. He teaches us to love like He does.
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Have you spent time thinking about what the love between the Father and the Son must be like?
Feeding On Jesus 
In simplicity of purpose how very true is this blog. A lesson for us ALL. Thank you.
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You are welcome dear sister! ❤
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John 17 is an incredible passage. Loving God and loving others is a tall order, but with Jesus’ power, we can do it!
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Absolutely right, Shae. And how generous He is to share His power with us! I’m smiling because I am just now seeing that you visited, right after I had a nudge and visited you. Must be a Holy Spirit thing! How have you been doing?
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I have been doing very well, thanks! We have had extra time at home, so we’ve been going at a less-than-breakneck pace, spending lots of time outside, and I’ve been spending more time with God. What about you?
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That sounds truly precious, and exactly what is needed. I am doing well too, and so thankful for the Lord’s perfect care! Things actually feel just a bit busier for me than before the quarantine, since I now have overseeing my kids’ studies on top of the usual things I do (which are all at-home responsibilities in the first place, so not affected really by sheltering at home). But God’s presence has been wonderfully comforting, and I am asking Him to develop in me ever-increasing measures of joy and thankfulness!
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Becoming more and more like Jesus is definitely not an easy process but I’m thankful we have the Holy Spirit helping us to become all God has called us to be. Encouraging post, thank you Jennifer!
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You are welcome, my dear sister! I am so thankful too! And how liberating it is to be more and more like Him! ❤ ❤
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Yes, the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ never compromise the truth. They stood for it.
So we also must be faithful to call out those that preach a different gospel, and point people to a false Christ.
The more we are like Him, means we suffer more, and that means spiritual suffering as well as physical, and emotional……when Jesus suffered the cross, and suffered the false teacher’s, He was a man of many sorrow’s……..the Joy is not an emotional JOY as we can and do experience, however if we are growing closer to Him, we suffer more…….our Joy is His Love towards us, and we will be more acquainted with grief, just as He was.
So many “Christians” have a shallow knowledge of that suffering, and walk around as if life is filled with such glorious joy because they are saved, yes that does occur, but we are never meant to stay in the immature mentality.
Lord bless you!
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Thank you so much for taking the time to thoughtfully share your insights! I was just teaching some of my mentees this truth last week, that God expects us to grow up into maturity — and also that as we do, it means increasing freedom in Him. And there truly is a whole lot of suffering with our Savior on this road He has us on! That we might share in His glory…
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