Scripture Verses
John 14:15-27 (NIV)
15"If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17the 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[a] in you. 18I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."
22Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, "But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?"
23Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
25"All this I have spoken while still with you. 26But the Counselor, 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. 27Peace 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.
Devotion
In “The Kissing Hand,” a modern classic picture book by Audrey Penn, a small raccoon dreads leaving the security of his mother’s side for his first day of school. His raccoon mama plants a kiss on his little raccoon palm that he can take along and hold as he begins his new adventure.
I thought about this book while talking with a friend with a son in kindergarten. He was anxious about being at school without the benefit of her comforting presence. She told him she had a very special idea: she would write him a little note. Whenever he missed her during the day, he could take it out of his pocket to read as a reminder that she was thinking about him at the same time he was thinking about her. That afternoon he came home from school, glowing and confident. I don’t know what the note said. I only know that the first line was all he needed to read: “I love you so much.”
The disciples struggled to comprehend the truths Jesus taught and modeled. They didn’t have the perspective of hindsight for understanding his death and resurrection. But as he talked about leaving them, they began to feel anxious. So he shared with them a very special idea: the coming of the Holy Spirit to stay with them forever.
There’s a spiritual I think about during Lent: Jesus walked this lonesome valley; he had to walk it by himself. . . .” He did just that – for us. And now we have the Spirit, God’s gracious gift, who will be with us forever – who reminds us that whenever we are thinking of Jesus, Jesus is thinking of us.
Prayer
Holy Spirit, thank you for reminding me today as I live the adventure of my life, though I may at times feel lonely, I am never, ever truly alone. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
|
