Today’s Reading: John 17:1-5
Hearing God’s Voice for Today:
“Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.”
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This is the beginning of Jesus’ final prayer for his disciples. Prayer wasn’t an afterthought for him. It was his lifeline to the Father. It’s what gave him strength and power. It should be the same with you.
The hour had arrived for the Son to accomplish the work for which he’d been sent: To die for the forgiveness of our sins and give us eternal life.
Jesus knew the Father would be glorified by his death on the cross. God’s perfect love and justice are intermixed. His holiness was satisfied by his wrath being poured out on Jesus, and not you. His love was shown by the free gift of the forgiveness of your sins.
Note that Jesus asked the Father to glorify him in his presence. How was this done? It happened when, after Jesus’ death on the cross, where for a while he was separated from his sinless Father because all our sin rested on him, both the Father and the Son were restored to perfect union in heaven—a union that existed in all eternity before Jesus came to earth.
Your greatest need is now met: The forgiveness of your sins. You now possess the gift of eternal life. You know the one true God through the one the Father sent to you to give you the gift of eternal life—Jesus. What Adam lost in the Garden of Eden, Jesus restored. Humanity has union life with God.
The Lord Jesus Christ accomplished the work the Father sent him to do. When he cried out on the cross with his last breath, “It is finished,” his work was done. He obeyed perfectly the righteous requirements of the moral law, the Ten Commandments.
Where you failed, Jesus succeeded. Your disobedience brought you judgment. His obedience brought you forgiveness.
The judgment due you fell upon him. Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin so that you might become the righteousness of God. If you have accepted Christ as Savior, the Father now accepts you. He sees only his forgiveness and his righteousness in your heart.
Jesus is now with the Father again. It’s the place where he preexisted with him before the world was ever created. Today Jesus sits at the Father’s right hand, waiting for the time when the Father tells him to return and judge the living and the dead. His glorification is complete.
The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with an unfailing love. He forgives every kind of sin and rebellion. He lavishes love to the thousandth generation for those who love him. He redeems you from death and crowns you with his tender mercies.
How great is the Father’s love for you, that he would make you his child. Abide in his love. It’s the most powerful force in the universe.
It’s what brought Jesus from heaven to earth to you.
It’s what will take you home one day.
[from “Hearing the Voice of God” by Pastor David Chadwick, Moments of Hope Church, Charlotte, NC]