Philippians
2:1-13
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any
common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my
joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit
and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in
humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but
each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one
another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being
made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled
himself by becoming obedient to death - even death on a cross! Therefore God
exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every
name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth
and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to
the glory of God the Father. Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always
obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to
work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you
to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
Christ said: “Righteous
Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you
have sent me. I have made you known to them and will continue to make you known
in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” John 17:25-26
“But whenever someone turns to the Lord,
the veil is taken away ... so all of us who have had that veil removed can see
and reflect the glory of the Lord and
the Lord—who is the spirit—makes us more and more like Jesus as we are changed
into his glorious image.” 2 Corinthians 3:16-18
We were made to be one
with Jesus. This is why when we stray away from Him for any length of time
in any area of our lives we cannot find peace. At times we do not want to admit that we may be wrong or that
we are deliberately going against some thoughts that He has placed in our
hearts or is urging us to stop doing. When we ignore Jesus, He sees us allowing
the enemy to take over our hearts and our decisions. He knows we are surrendering
ourselves to something that will only destroy us. He will only speak the hard truth
to us and convict us in order to get rid of this evil and to be free to be with Him.
If you have a personal
relationship with Jesus, if you have asked Him to start revealing Himself
to you, whether you understand it or not, then
He is in you. He has already given you everything it takes to understand
Him because He is actually dwelling
inside of you right now.
He has created your
mind to be one with His. He has created your body to be one with His, your
soul, your heart … every part of you. He is already inside of you to start
showing you what real sight looks like, what real hearing sounds like, what
real trust is, what real wisdom is, what real happiness and joy is, what real
understanding is, what real success is, what real peace is and what real love
is.
When we respond with honesty, truth and a genuine desire for
Jesus there is a union that produces
life like we have never known it before. The enemy would like nothing more
than to make us believe that we will never be able to understand and attain the
goal of being one with Jesus and so
we might as well go on living in this fake life filled with nice moments at
church and once in a while getting inspired by a Bible verse that we share with
others … but this is only the beginning
of a full spirit-filled life … a life that Jesus suffered, died and
resurrected for us to have.
Remember, you don’t have to be a theologian to understand that
Jesus is already living inside of you. Start by simply asking Jesus, “What will it take to have you in my heart?
What will my life actually be like once Jesus is in me? Ask Him to make your
heart open to His truth. This is the first step to becoming one with Him. He
will explain, He will comfort and He will correct. And it will be so beautiful,
that you will only want to love and praise Him and share His love with others.
Allow Jesus into your
heart, as if your life depends on it … because IT DOES.