Nougat 19

There is an irony, or perhaps a mystery or a profundity found in God’s Word that is worth exploring. The ideas conveyed are that we are God’s temple, whilst we are being told to follow God. As we read today’s Holy Nougat, may we bear these two mysteries in mind.

“Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.” ‭‭John‬ ‭12‬:‭26‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Where God Is

Of course, we recognize that when Jesus spoke, He was still here. So this was more of a literal statement. But it’s also theological as it speaks to the choice we make in accepting Jesus as our Lord. And that’s connected to our service to Jesus.

Jesus uses the word diakoneo, from which the term ‘deacon’ comes. It implies that we become as waiters, or stewards, making ourselves available to perform the bidding of a master or honored guest. And, by taking the extended meaning, we also recognize that if the Resurrected Christ lives within, through God’s Spirit, then Jesus is our honored guest, as well as the master – for He is the subject and the object of our worship.

This further implies that we are availing ourselves to meet Jesus’ needs, which requires obedience and communication. Yes, obedience, because we are not in authority over Jesus, so we’re not telling Jesus what Jesus needs. Rather we open ourselves to do Jesus’ bidding – going the distance as needed. And we communicate with Him to ensure that we understand our tasks and have correctly completed them.

But life in service to a force as dynamic as God’s Spirit requires that we are in direct communication with Jesus, ie we must be in His presence at all times. And yes, all means all. That is not a suggestion but a statement. We aren’t in the reserves, being a full time employee in one space, with part-time service to Jesus. Jesus Himself told us we can’t serve God and mammon (Matthew 6:24-26). Whether our flesh or the enemy of our souls, neither has priority over God’s will in our lives. Isn’t that what we pray, ‘Your kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as in Heaven’?

And that’s why we follow (akoloutheō) Jesus. We travel on the road with Him. In more current language, He’s our ride or die. Because it’s when we are on that road with Him that we get to fully understand Who Jesus is and how He operates. That’s how we get clued in on the nitty gritty of Jesus’ desires for us as servants and hosts.

And, the best news – Jesus is God, the human embodiment of the Divine. So being with Jesus, serving Jesus, hosting God’s Spirit is actually placing us directly in God’s presence. So yes, we serve and follow Jesus. We are operating from an external perspective. But, we are also hosts to God’s Spirit, who keeps the connectivity secure. Of course, it means we have to desire to take the task of diakoneo, of service to God, and be willing to follow Jesus wherever He goes.

Lord Jesus, please forgive us for the times we strayed , uncaring or unaware that in so doing, we have removed ourselves from Your holy presence. We renew our lives to Your service this day and ask to be even deeper in Your presence. Hear our hearts’ prayer please Jesus. Amen

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May all we seek be found in Christ