Abide. Abide. Abide.
His!
They were yours; you gave them to me … – John 17:6b
A missionary is someone in whom the Holy Spirit has brought about this realization: “You are not your own” (1 Corinthians 6:19). To say, “I am not my own,” is to have reached a high point in my spiritual stature. The true nature of that life in actual everyday confusion is evidenced by the deliberate giving up of myself to another Person through a sovereign decision, and that Person is Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit interprets and explains the nature of Jesus to me to make me one with my Lord, not that I might simply become a trophy for His showcase. Our Lord never sent any of His disciples out on the basis of what He had done for them. It was not until after the resurrection, when the disciples had perceived through the power of the Holy Spirit who Jesus really was, that He said, “Go” (Matthew 28:19; also see Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:8).
“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26). He was not saying that this person cannot be good and upright, but that he cannot be someone over whom Jesus can write the word Mine. Any one of the relationships our Lord mentions in this verse can compete with our relationship with Him. I may prefer to belong to my mother, or to my wife, or to myself, but if that is the case, then, Jesus said, “[You] cannot be My disciple.” This does not mean that I will not be saved, but it does mean that I cannot be entirely His.
Our Lord makes His disciple His very own possession, becoming responsible for him. “…you shall be witnesses to Me…” (Acts 1:8) The desire that comes into a disciple is not one of doing anything for Jesus, but of being a perfect delight to Him. The missionary’s secret is truly being able to say, “I am His, and He is accomplishing His work and His purposes through me.”
Be entirely His!
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As you may already know. My word for 2021 is ABIDE. When I read Chambers’ devotional this morning it reminded me of some things I have been missing this year on “my quest” to more deeply ABIĎE in Christ.
How about you? Does anything resonate with you? Are you soured to make any changes?
Come let us ABIDE in Him!
My Life in Our Father's World 
The thing that resonates with me, Barb, is that the Christian life is about being before it is about doing. I tend to rush ahead with what I “think” God wants me to do before I’ve spent the necessary time with Him to truly know what that is. I enjoy Oswald Chambers. Blessings!
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I’m a jump-in-with-both-feet kinda girl. This often gets me in trouble. When will I learn to let God take the lead?
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What good food for thought! I think local community is one of the often over-looked mission fields – and fellow Christians don’t realize their mission field is not just their own family – but their entire community – those who cross their path. “The desire that comes into a disciple is not one of doing anything for Jesus, but of being a perfect delight to Him” – and I think that perfect delight comes in learning to love Him – and letting that love be shared in our works and actions! Wonderfully thought-provoking post!
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