Waxing Eloquent

“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 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 17:24-26)

          When we’re excited about something, we tend to wax eloquent and repeat ourselves. In the literature and culture of Jesus’ time, repeating something, or repeating it with a slight variation, was considered a proper means of emphasizing the matter. It was even viewed as poetic. So while I’m saying, “Yeah, Jesus, You already said that…can we move on to the next point?” his disciples are saying, “David! Solomon! Shakespeare!” and, I think Jesus is saying, “Yes, but did you get it? Do you understand how huge this is? Really, did…you…get…it?”
          He knows the answer. He knows that if we say “Yep, got it!” we still don’t. We’re either mistaken or we’re lying because it’s so much more, and so much bigger than we can fathom. So, one more time. Jesus wants the Father’s love for Him to be shared with us. He wants the Father to have a relationship with us that is closer than a good marriage. 

          Scripture says that God is love, and that He so loved the world…. But the Father’s relationship with the Son was such that if asked to choose between the world and Jesus, He should have chosen Jesus.  The fact that He didn’t actually doesn’t elevate us. It further glorifies Jesus, because it honors Jesus’ decision to be the Sacrifice that satisfied the Father’s anger. In truth, when offered either…or, the Father’s answer was, “Yes” meaning “Both!”

          But some people claim that Jesus’s death was unnecessary, because our access to Him (and to heaven by extension) is based on whether or not we do good works. And some go so far as to claim that everyone will go to heaven, regardless. What an insult to both the Father and the Son, who, if they are right, gave His life needlessly. I digress.

          Jesus wants us to experience that love. He also wants us to demonstrate that love to others, but unless we’re experiencing it, we can’t. I guess that’s important enough to repeat a few times…and maybe even to die to demonstrate.