“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can you, except ye abide in Me.” John 15:4
Dear Ones:
What is fulfillment? What is true satisfaction of heart, mind, and soul? Is it not the experience that God by the giving of Himself? Why do we say this? We know from Scripture that Christ died on Calvary, so that by the forgiveness of our sins, being born of the Spirit, we might KNOW eternal life, now, and after physical death. You will remember the Lord’s words in the Gospel of John: “And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.” (11:26) But what is this eternal life to which we are called, to know, and to grasp? It is that presence, power, and Person of Christ, by the Spirit, that we are called to experience. It is that revelation, manifestation, and expression of the holy nature of God, Christ by His Spirit, dwelling in our hearts. How does this eternal Life of Christ, which has become our own by the new birth, reveal itself? Paul wrote to the believers in Galatia the following about God the Spirit, and how His presence is known in the heart, and revealed through the life: “…But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” (5:22) What is he saying? God reveals Himself to the heart and through the life in this manner. The fruit of the hidden life of Christ, dwelling in the heart by faith, is revealed in this manner. In writing to the Roman Christians, Paul uses the subject of the kingdom of God, that domain over which Christ reigns, by saying: “…for the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (14:17) Here, the Lord reveals to us the same thing as before, with regard to how God reveals Himself to and through the life. Only this time, it is from the perspective of His kingdom, that active reign of Christ in the life. Where Christ reigns, “from shore to shore,” there the peace of God will be revealed. But, what does this have to do with fulfilment, satisfaction of heart, mind, and soul?
In the book of Isaiah, the Lord says: “I will pour water on him that is thirsty and flood upon the dry ground.” (44:3) What is this thirst? It is that nagging, persistent consciousness of need, of emptiness, of dissatisfaction, that can reside in the soul, mind, and heart. In chapter 55 of Isaiah, this issue of thirst becomes a very personal one, as the Lord declares: “Ho, EVERYONE that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy; and eat.” (v.1) This thirst is not just a subject to be considered, because everyone else on earth might have this need. It is rather an essential need of the individual heart, today…and it applies to every heart, our own included. What is this water, or waters, of which the Lord speaks? It is primarily HIMSELF. In Isaiah 44, he writes, “…I will pour MY SPIRIT upon thy seed, and MY blessing upon thine offspring.” (v.3) These are basically the same words and thoughts of the Lord Jesus when He stood and cried: “If any man is thirsty, let him come to ME and drink.” (Jn. 7:37) Christ is that One who has the power and authority to give living water to the thirsty heart, and He will, for He has promised: “He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” (v.38) Of what was He speaking? He was speaking of the Holy Spirit, God in Christ, revealed by the Spirit to the heart, and in and through the life. Satisfaction and fulfillment, true fulfillment, comes when Christ is Lord of the life, and His life, like a never ending stream, is revealed by the love, joy, and peace of the Spirit in an ever-increasing measure.
Dear Father, Fill us today with the fulness of Christ, by the Spirit. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad