“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.
*****************************************
Have you spent time thinking about what the love between the Father and the Son must be like?
Feeding On Jesus 
Mindful of what Chesterton wrote, and I’m paraphrasing: “It’s not so much that Christianity has been tried and found difficult; more that Christianity is difficult and hasn’t been tried.”
The strongest people I know admit that they are weak and need God. If we let our guard down and let the Holy Spirit plunge deeply within us, the resulting peace gives us a little glimpse of heaven and the realization that all things truly are possible. We just need to trust Him and enjoy the ride!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Aaaamen, my dear brother. I love how you expressed this. “Let the weak say, ‘I am strong’…. in Him ALONE! Much love, grace, and peace to you today in Jesus our Lord.
LikeLike
One aspect I admire about you Sister Arimborgo- is the focus you continually place on the love of Christ.
As you know, or might remember…from me sharing and commenting…the love aspect , seems to be more difficult the more we engage in battle, spiritual warfare, being exposed to so much pain, hate, killing,lies, crookedness, creates a monster out of us if we are not careful to absolutely MAKE IT IMPERATIVE TO SPEND TIME in this area..
Visiting sites like yours, that constantly remind us of this necessity..
Thank you sister.
It’s so easy, to allow ourselves to desire God ‘stick it to ‘ those we don’t like, our enemies, or his,
And when we are talking about human beings, IT IS SO EASY TO FORGET, TO BLINDLY LOOK PAST the words in Ephesians that remind us all-
Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against dark invisible forces…
It’s easy not to like someone who we have known for a period of time and over that period of time, they haven’t shown the slightest interest in God, loving God, talking about God, it’s easy for us to view them in a good vs bad mentality.
Even harder when God has you working in certain area of ministry, and through this work you encounter humans whom are working in tandem with these dark forces, to cause death, pain, torment, disease, stealing, sickening, exploiting, robbing, using witchcraft and so on…
And using it on our family and body of Christ.
How can we not get angry, and want them to experience some sort of payback…
It is VITAL to always remember- it is NEVER WHAT WE WANT TO BEGIN WITH.
ITS NEVER – speaking to them , and delivering a message from God and getting justice for ourselves..
It’s about doing God’s will- whether God shows mercy, or he doesn’t.
I would like to share the following excerpt that is about Jonah, specifically chapter one and two. I will post the excerpt in the next comment. It opens eyes.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Praise God, Ben, I am truly honored and privileged to be an instrument of His encouragement! His love is absolutely everything to me. I profoundly understand what you are expressing here, the very real challenge of tuning into His heart for those individuals bent on causing evil and pain. ONLY He can work this miracle within us. ONLY He can give us His supernatural love. May He do so more and more!
LikeLike
This is how the Introduction to the book of Jonah reads:
The book bearing Jonah’s name recounts his own unfaithfulness to the will of God by announcing Jonahs failure to trust and obey his creator.
Jonah, son of amittai, was from Gath Hepher, a border town in ancient Israel approximately five miles from Nazareth. He served in the North Kingdom of Israel under king jeroboam II. (2kings 14:25) And was the prophet most widely known for Sunday school stories of “Jonah in the whale”.
The word of the Lord came to this reluctant prophet twice –, once , at which point Jonah fled (1:3) and was ultimately swallowed up by a “huge fish” (1:17), and a second time, at which point Jonah obeyed (3:3)and finally did as he was commanded.
The mission he was reluctant to undertake was to extend mercy to Nineveh, the Assyrian capital along the Tigris river and a sworn enemy of Israel.
For Jonah, this was nearly a 500 mile journey away from his home, to a people who were plagued with the sins of violence, pride, and greed.
Expectations are turned upside down in this story of a prophet who was enraged by God’s mercy and a wicked nation that was much more receptive to God’s Word than God’s own prophet.
On display in this ironic story is God’s deep compassion, expressed in his desire to love even the sinful people with whom the “righteous” don’t wish to bother.
(End of introduction)
When I read this Introduction…I was blown away…I had never heard the story this way or of the details in this way…
But it did two things…it slapped me across the face.
It instantly made me feel ashamed for my anger against the people who live next door to me, who has caused me so much anger and grief, but specifically in the manner in which I held them inside my heart.
The number #1 thing- MERCY AND FORGIVENESS had long vanished for them
I wanted justice, I wanted God to slap them with vengeance,
After reading this, after God making it a point to point this INTRODUCTION OUT TO ME..
I immediately began to ask for forgiveness and began to pray for them.
I remember God saying to me:
They ARE NOT YOUR PEOPLE. THEY ARE MY PEOPLE.
As he reiterated the fact – anytime any one of us wants vengeance upon anyone…not that we can’t want it..but we need to remember..they are NOT OUR CHILDREN..they are Gods children.
Amen.
I hope and pray this blesses many, as your post has.
God bless you sister.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow, yes indeed! I can very much see how He used that writing about Jonah to speak to your heart in this life-giving way. He is so, so faithful and patient and kind in taking us further in and further up in Him! Thank you so much for sharing this, it relates so directly to the post, wonderfully relevant!
LikeLiked by 1 person