Morning By Morning #213

I in them…

John 17:23

From the pen of Charles Spurgeon:

If this verse describes the union that exists between our soul and the Lord, imagine how deep and wide is the river of our communion with Him! This union is no narrow pipe through which a tiny thread-like stream winds its way. No, it is a river of amazing depth and breadth with a flood of “living water” (John 7:38) flowing through its entire glorious length.

“See, [He has] placed before [us] an open door” (Rev. 3:8). May we not be slow to enter this city of communion with Him. The city has “twelve gates,” with “each gate made of a single pearl” (Rev. 21:21), and each one is open wide so we may enter and be assured of being welcome. If the city had simply one loophole (a narrow slit for shooting arrows through ancient fortress walls) through which to talk with Jesus, it would be a blessing enough just to share one word of fellowship through the narrow hole. But how much more of a blessing to have an entrance so large and open!

If the Lord Jesus were far away from us, with many a stormy sea between, we would yearn to send a messenger to Him with our love and would long for the messenger’s return, bringing us news from His Father’s house. But look at His kindness—He has built His house next door to ours. Even more than that, He resides with us, making our poor humble hearts His tabernacle so He may have continual communion with us.

Oh, how foolish we are if we do not live in habitual communion with Him! When our road is long, dangerous, and difficult we need not worry how seldom friends see each other, for when they live together, will Jonathan forget his David? When a husband travels, his wife may handle several days without speaking with him, but she could never endure being separated from him if she knew he were in one of the rooms of her own house.

So why, believer, do you not sit at the Lord’s “banquet of wine” (Est. 5:6 KJV)? “Seek [your] LORD,” for “he is near” (Isa. 55:6). Embrace Him, for He is your Brother. Hold Him securely, for He is your Husband, and press Him to your heart, for He is your own flesh and blood.

From the pen of Jim Reimann:

It is nearly impossible for us as humans to comprehend the amazing oneness we have with the Lord Jesus and His church. He Himself was perfectly one with His Father. He had eternally experienced this unity with the Father, never having had even one thought outside His Father’s will, much less an action. And although it is difficult for us to comprehend that level of oneness, Jesus said, “I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one” (John 17:11).

And Jesus, as a symbol of our oneness with Him, not only shares His powerful name with us but gives us another beautiful symbol of oneness with Him—His glory—for He went on to say, “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one” (John 17:22).

Lord, help us as we “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3)—in this life as it will be in heaven.