Sunday 27 April 2008
- Bible Book:
- John
"This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you... They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them". (v.17 & 21)
Background
In the first part of this chapter, Jesus has explained how hewill be going to the Father (returning to God) and because thedisciples have known him, they will know the Father too.
In this passage, Jesus assures the disciples that when he hasreturned to the Father, they will always have a 'helper' to assistthem in finding the truth. This 'helper' or 'advocate' is describedas "the Spirit of truth" (verse 17) - one who will be there toprovide whatever help is needed. Jesus expects the disciples torespond by showing their love for him through obedience to hisword. As a result, the disciples will know the truth about God andthe reality of God's love for them.
God will not be known by some manifestation to the world, but inlove and obedience with the assistance of the 'helper'.
It may be a reflection of my personality type, but I find thatknowing 'truth' is a lot easier than knowing the reality that I amloved. It's clear to me, however, that I am at my best when I amaware of both dimensions.
Perhaps these could be useful dimensions for a congregation or achurch too. Having the twin priorities of:
- constantly searching for and acting obediently on God's truths,and
- sharing and celebrating the reality of God's love
seem to be a good balance for a disciple.
To Ponder
How do you respond to the followingstatements?
- Too much certainty of truth slows the search for God.
- Too much certainty of love takes the urgency fromfaithfulness.
Are there times in your life when you have feltthe "Spirit of truth" guiding you? What help was provided?