LIVING AN ENRICHED LIFE PROMISED TO THOSE WHO LOVE THE LORD
BIBLE PASSAGE:
Before long, the world will not see Me anymore,
but you will see Me. Because I live, you also will live.
(John 14:19)
MEDITATION:
Jesus told His disciples that there would soon be a time when the
world would not see Him anymore, but ‘they’ would still see Him.
Not only would they see Him, but their lives would be enriched by
His presence. Why would they see Him even when others would
not? Because they would remain connected to Him when He was
no longer with them physically.
How did they (and how do we) stay connected with Him? What should
we be doing? We should do the works that He did when He walked the
earth in human form, shouldn’t we? Jesus tells us to do His works.
Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in Me will do
the works I have been doing, and they will do even
greater things than these, because I am going to the
Father.
(John 14:12)
We should show our love for Him by obeying His commands.
“If you love Me, keep My commands.”
(John14:15)
Whoever has My commands and
keeps them is the one who loves Me.
(John 14:21a)
Jesus replied, “Anyone who
loves Me will obey My teaching.
(John 14:23a)
Anyone who does not love
Me will not obey My teaching.
(John 14:24a)
How are our lives enriched when we ‘do His works’, ‘love Him’,
and ‘obey His commands’? Our lives will be enriched because
He will hear and respond to our prayers.
And I will do whatever you ask in My name,
so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
You may ask Me for anything in My name,
and I will do it.
(John 14:13-14)
Of course this doesn’t mean our prayers will be for selfish gain.
When we are ‘connected’ to Him, our prayers will be aligned
with His will, and those are the requests He will answer. The
challenge for us when we pray, is to look at things from His
perspective, and to accept His timetable and methods for
answering our prayers.
We are also enriched by the presence of the Holy Spirit living within us.
And I will ask the Father, and He will give you
another Advocate to help you and be with you
forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot
accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows
Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and
will be in you.
(John 14:16-17)
When the Holy Spirit flourishes within us, our eyes and minds
are opened to new discoveries of the Lord and the Father.
On that day you will realize that I am in My
Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you.
(John 14:20)
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father
will send in My name, will teach you all things and
will remind you of everything I have said to you.
(John 14:26)
When we remain connected to the Lord, we will be loved
and we will feel the presence of both the Father and the Son.
The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father,
and I too will love them and show Myself to them.”
(John 14:21b)
My Father will love them, and We will
come to them and make Our home with them.
(John 14:23b)
Being connected with the Lord means we can enjoy
a new kind of peace like we have never experienced before.
Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you.
I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not
let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
(John 14:27)
ACTION:
There are some ‘lazy Christians’ who want just enough of the Lord
to avoid Hell, but they lack a total commitment to Him, and as a
result, they fail to enjoy living enriched lives on earth. Christ gave
us the guidelines for receiving His blessings, but it’s up to us to make
a commitment to totally surrender to Him and His will for us.
In the busy world we live in, Satan can easily convince us that we
don’t have time for adding anything else to our lives, but we are
assured by the Lord that what He asks of us is not burdensome
at all.
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you
will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is
easy and My burden is light.”
(Matthew 11:29-30)
As an example,
He tells us to “return” what belongs to the Father with our tithes.
However, some Christians cling to what belongs to Him, which
can imply that…
(1) they don’t trust Him to provide their needs,
and/or
(2) their love for Him is not as strong as it should be.
A couple had heard many messages on tithing but were not
participating. At one point they felt convicted to obey God’s
command and began tithing on their net income. Later they
felt convicted to tithe on their gross pay, and God continued
to meet their needs.
Several years after that, they felt God was convicting them to
give above their tithe. It was a huge challenge, but they chose
to obey what they thought the Lord wanted them to do.
How did it work out for them? They were overwhelmed by how God
blessed them financially and in other ways. The husband He received
three salary raises in 10 months (10%, 15%, and 11%). After a year
or so, they began to realize that tithing was an opportunity for them
to express their love and trust in the Lord to provide for them.
It was at that point that they became cheerful tithers. They were happy
with the ninety percent they kept, and looked forward to bringing God
the tithe that belonged to Him, instead of thinking how they could have
used the money for themselves.
We might ask ourselves,
How ‘connected’ to the Lord is my life?
What ‘things’ are preventing me from connecting with Him?
How has Satan convinced me to justify doing things
my own way, instead of being obedient to the Lord?
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, for way too long I have failed to
respond to Your guidelines for living a life connected
to You. I have been living a life of selfishness that has
created problems for me and prevented me from living
the enriched life promised to those who show their love
for You through obedience to Your commands. Help me
to respond to the things You ask of me in the way I should.
Forgive me for failing to trust You, and believing in Your
promises. Show me how to live a life under the guidance
and direction of the Holy Spirit You have given me.”
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