In the midst of crisis, Christ looked to the Father with infinite confidence. So must we. He knew, with infinite confidence, that the Father also gazed on Him with love. In Him, the Father also gazes on us. The Father delights to show us in His Son the immensity of His love -- this is why He is constantly sending His Word and His Spirit into our hearts in ever new ways.
How do we contemplate the Father? Jesus declared that "whoever sees me, sees the Father" (John 14:9). The image of the invisible God, faith in Him gives real access to the Father. This means, if we approach the Father in the name of Jesus, the Father always hears us -- if we persevere in calling on the Name of Jesus, the Father will not fail to pour out His blessings on us.
Yet to believe in Jesus, the Word of the Father, implicates us in a difficult task. To believe in the One who is Truth Himself means that we commit ourselves to believing the true faith - and this means our false beliefs must fall away. To believe in the One whose body was crucified for our sake, we must live our faith out in our bodies by keeping ourselves chaste in all our relationships. To believe in the One who loved us to the end, we must live our faith by laying our lives down for one another.
Confidence in the Father through faith in Jesus commits us to purity of of heart -- a life long pursuit that the Blood shed for us makes possible. Pure of heart by our teaching, our chastity and our love, we will see the living God. Holding nothing back in our devotion to Christ, the Father will hold nothing back from us.
How do we contemplate the Father? Jesus declared that "whoever sees me, sees the Father" (John 14:9). The image of the invisible God, faith in Him gives real access to the Father. This means, if we approach the Father in the name of Jesus, the Father always hears us -- if we persevere in calling on the Name of Jesus, the Father will not fail to pour out His blessings on us.
Yet to believe in Jesus, the Word of the Father, implicates us in a difficult task. To believe in the One who is Truth Himself means that we commit ourselves to believing the true faith - and this means our false beliefs must fall away. To believe in the One whose body was crucified for our sake, we must live our faith out in our bodies by keeping ourselves chaste in all our relationships. To believe in the One who loved us to the end, we must live our faith by laying our lives down for one another.
Confidence in the Father through faith in Jesus commits us to purity of of heart -- a life long pursuit that the Blood shed for us makes possible. Pure of heart by our teaching, our chastity and our love, we will see the living God. Holding nothing back in our devotion to Christ, the Father will hold nothing back from us.
No comments:
Post a Comment