“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you.” John 16:23
Perhaps the greatest miracle of all time and eternity is this, that a lowly creature as man is, with all of his limitations, littleness, and sinfulness, can come before the Almighty, unchanging, holy God, be accepted in His presence, and there receive all from God the Father by the Spirit so that he can worship and commune with God. The great, and daily miraculous invitation of Christ, is “Come unto Me.” In and of itself, this invitation is amazing, for Scripture constantly asks the question: “What is man that Thou art mindful of him?” If the nations are as a drop in a bucket, then what is individual man? And yet, wonder of wonders, the eternal Son of God, directed by the Father, has not only laid down His life as a testimony of the love of God to save sinful man, but He has in doing so, taken upon Himself the judgment of the entire world, the very real consequence of sin. Why did He do this, and this deternined before the foundation of the world? And what was His clearly defined objective? Was it just to save sinful, lost man from the consequences of sin and death? Or was there a greater, higher reason, one which should be known and experienced in the present day?
The great purpose of the existence of man is tied to great calling of God to man. It is a calling to rise up and come away, to forsake all to follow Christ, to take the yoke of Christ upon oneself, in order to KNOW Him. What is the essence of this calling? From the blessed, and quiet moments of communion that Adam and Eve knew in fellowship wth the Son of God in the Garden of Eden before the Fall, to this present day, on this side of Calvary and Pentecost, the great desire and will of God is not that man should just be forgiven of his sins, and made holy by the righteousness of the blood of Christ. These things were necessary, even essential, to be accepted in peace by God. But the objective was to bring man into a position, a place in his relationship with God, where he could KNOW God, commune WITH God, learn to literally “derive all from Christ,” and thus, to live by HIs faitrh, His Life. The calling of man is to KNOW the power of Christ’s resurrection, that same eternal power and strength given to the Lord Jesus to overcome all that opposed Him, physically, mentally, and spiritually. The sufferings that Christ knew were the result of His righteous life born out of communion with the Father. The enemy of this world, the prince of darkness, does not want the testimony of the life of Christ to be revealed on this earth in Christ. This is why all who would live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. The god of this world, antagonistic in every fiber of his being against the Father and Christ, is ever opposing, and fighting against the revelation of Him. What then is to be our perception of this most important thing, communion with the Father?
We must see first of all that every child of God, anywhere, and at any time, is called of God the Father and the Son, by the Spirit, to “come” seeking communion. In Matthew’s gospel, we find Jesus speaking about the fact that the Father is looking to SEE who will come. His eyes run to and fro throughout the entire earth to find that one who will come. When there is the sincere seeking of God, there will be the response of the heart to come alone to God, individually, to know and worship Him. Where there is true prayer, the Father immediatley sees, and rewards. How? The revelation of Christ to the heart is the great reward of fellowship. Christ not only dwells in the heart, but manifests Himself.
Dear Father, Dwell in us fully. In Jesus’ name, Amen.