The vine and branches imagery[1] tells me that what is real about Jesus will permeate what is real about me so that people get to know him in getting to know me.
This intriguing thought led to a consideration of how John 3:16-18 will look when my branch expresses to others what God has expressed to me through Jesus.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (Jesus)
If “God so loved the world,” the real me would come across as loving the world the way the Triune has so loved the world.[2] If God “gave his only Son,” then the realness of me would want to give Jesus to the world as well. If divine reality requires, “that whoever believes in Jesus should not perish but have eternal life,” then I must be all about telling people this good news, that there is eternal life in our Lord Jesus Christ that is for all who will believe!
If “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,” it means that my presentation of the good news of great joy must not come across as condemnation, even though referring to the coming condemnation is a necessary part of the good news.
If the purpose in sending Jesus into the world was “in order that the world might be saved through him,” my purpose in going into the world with the good news about Jesus is that people would be saved rather than condemned.
Since “whoever believes in Jesus is not condemned,” this must be my highest pursuit in life, to bring people to believe in Jesus. Since, “whoever does not believe in Jesus is condemned already,” it is not my place to condemn them, but to save them. This will necessitate communicating that the whole world is alike under sin and condemnation, but as the stage on which to gush out the wonders of the good news of great joy.
Since the reason people continue under condemnation is only that they have “not believed in the name of the only Son of God,” my ministry to people must be focused on leading people to faith in Jesus Christ.
And, since faith in Jesus Christ “comes from hearing, and hearing comes from the word of Christ,”[3] my sharing of the good news of great joy must bring people to hear the “word of Christ” in order that the lost sheep of God would hear Jesus calling them and follow him into the life of the kingdom forever.[4]
God is doing things to make this very real
and personal within me, and so there is a very “blessed” experience of
poverty of spirit, mourning, meekness, and hungering and thirsting for this righteousness[5] with
the awareness that the reason I am on this journey is so that God can satisfy
my need to be like Jesus within myself, but also in all my relationships with
everyone. I am enjoying the feeling that I am not going to accomplish this, but
Father is letting me feel the grace of how he is doing it himself. I can enjoy
each day of grace in the certain hope of that coming day of completion.[6]
© 2020 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8
Email: in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the
English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text
Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of
Good News Publishers.)
No comments:
Post a Comment