The Bible frequently makes contrasts between two kinds of people, to make a distinction between those who belong to God and those who have nothing to do with Him:
• the righteous (or blameless) and the wicked (or ungodly);
• the wise and the foolish;
• those who fear God and those who do not;
• the children of God and the subjects of God;
• the faithful and the adulterous;
• the wheat and the tares.
But other times, two kinds of people are contrasted not by what is external and immediately apparent, but by a condition of the heart which is evident only over time. It is a contrast made between those who abide in Jesus Christ and His words, and those who are merely "externally and mechanically attached to Him" (using the words of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown):
• those who walk according to the Spirit and those who walk according to the flesh;
• the good servant and the lazy servant;
• the fruitful and the unfruitful.
"Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full."
~ John 16:24 (NKJV)
Any one of us can be the kind of people who ask God to indulge human will and attach "in-Your-name-amen" at the end of our words.
"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples."
~ John 15:7-8 (NKJV)
But only some of us will prove to be the kind of people who so deeply root ourselves in Jesus that we produce the astonishing spiritual fruit of prayers which glorify the Father to the extent that He does not deny them.
Lord, please make us this kind of people, that You may be glorified.
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Copyright 2012, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Amen, I join you in this prayer sis.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Denise, sweet prayer warrior. ♥
DeleteI want to spend time with that word today--abide. I want to understand it better. So many times I feel the fool.
ReplyDelete~ Wendy
Wendy, we are all fools at times. But praise God, He gives us His wisdom in measure beyond comprehension.
DeleteSome of my favorite words of our Beloved are His first in public ministry: "Blessed are the poor in spirit." Abiding in Him is simply reckoning these words true. Apart from Him, we can do nothing. Yet, in Him, nothing is impossible. He becomes our joyful obsession out simply believing the truth... Jesus is our all in all.
ReplyDeleteSo thankful for how HE uses you Anne!
Thank you, Makala. Nothingness ... it brings us to Him, it makes us rich in Him, it is His material of miracles. : )
DeleteJust home from Haiti today, Anne. And your words are a well for me today as I try to sort out some things... Thank you.
ReplyDeleteHaiti, Jennifer! I must leave your comment in my inbox until I have caught up with you. I'm excited to learn details, and blessed to think I might give you anything beyond such an experience.
DeletePretty close-minded if you ask me.....
ReplyDeletePutting people into categories is never a good thing.
How do you categorize the person that is has no religion but also donates time and money to those in need?
What about the person that is a 'christian' but acts very hateful towards those that are not?
To the Reasonable Gentleman visiting my humble site, I would gladly engage you if you are open to hearing me. I apologize to you that we who claim the name "Christian" are simply disciples learning to be like our Master, and have yet to perfectly emulate Him. We are unintentionally ignorant hypocrites, every one of us—yet beloved by our God.
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