Today’s Scripture: John 14:15-20
15 “If you love me, obey my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. 18 No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. 19 Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. 20 When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.
Today’s Devotional
Growing up in the part of Oklahoma I grew up in meant that it was hard to get lost. All of the roads were laid out in grids. If you lost your way, you just kept going until you crossed a road that you knew – or you ended up in Kansas. But either way, you were no longer lost. Driving in Northern Virginia has been hard for me – even with GPS. None of the roads connect to other roads and if they do, they all have “Burke” in the name! I have often found myself wondering just where the heck I am!
Jesus’ disciples were starting to feel lost. Jesus is telling them quite plainly that his time with them is coming to an end. They are pretty anxious about it. I think we know how they feel. Living in a pandemic has increased our feeling of lostness. We long for some normalcy – some road markers – that tell us we are back on track. We just want things to feel like they did.
Jesus’ answer to the disciples – and to us – is to remind them that he does not leave us alone. Even if we have no idea where we are – Jesus knows, and is with us. We are not abandoned. One of the most comforting verses of scripture, I believe, is verse 20: “When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”
We are in Christ. Christ is in God. We are in God. It’s pretty hard to be lost when you are in God!
As we head into this weekend, even if you are feeling lost, know that you are not lost to God. In fact, you are right where you should be. Ask God to send God’s Spirit to comfort and remind you that you are not alone.
There is a quote from the play “Our Town” by the character Rebecca. She’s talking about a letter written to her friend with an unusual address on the envelop.
“It said: Jane Crofut; The Crofut Farm; Grover’s Corners; Sutton County; New Hampshire; United States of America; Continent of North America; Western Hemisphere; the Earth; the Solar System; the Universe; the Mind of God…and the postman brought it just the same.”
I wonder if the playwright was thinking of this verse from John? We are never really lost – we are in the Mind of God.
One last thing. We will singing a new song on Sunday morning called “I Am Who You Say I Am.” If you would like to listen to it ahead of time here is a link. I think you will like it and it has such an important message for us.
Today’s Prayer
God remind us that we are in you – no matter where we might be.
Amen
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