A Thrill of Hope - Week 1: Day 3

What Jesus Wants
 
 Have you ever thought about what Jesus wants? After all, we celebrate Christmas in appreciation of His birthday. I remember growing up my parents would always ask me what I wanted for my birthday, and when they gave me something different, I would really be disappointed.

What if we gave Jesus what He wants for His birthday this year? I bet it would not be a new bike or more money in the offering plate, although don’t get me wrong, there is nothing contrary to putting more money in the offering plate. Many of you may be wondering, what does Jesus want for His birthday, what does Jesus really want for Christmas? Can you make a list for Him? After you do, make sure you write down how you will give it to Him.

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Of all the things that you could have written down, how many of them are you willing to give Him? How many of them can you support scripturally? That is important. You see, as we learned in the previous devotional, He came to make all things known…and He certainly is not trying to hide what He wants from you for his birthday, for Christmas, or for every day.
Look at John 17:24 with me. This is the Lord’s prayer for us, as He is preparing for the ascension, He prays. This is by far the most beautiful prayer in the Bible, but I want you to pay close attention to what the desire of the Lord is.

“Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”
 
There are two desires that Christ prays for. First, that we will be united with Him, now and forever.  Secondly, the we behold His glory. What does that even mean? He does not just want us to see it with our eyes, but He wants us to feel it with our hearts. Currently, we are united with Him by His Spirit in us. That is absolutely incredible if you stop to think about it.  Even though sometimes we fail to remember that we are always in His presence and a host for His Spirit, He never forgets us. So, the prayer is that we will have an awareness of His continual presence in our lives and never quench His Spirit until we are united with Him physically at the final consummation or after the second coming.

Glory is such an abstract term though isn’t it? How do you understand His glory? Honestly, there are times that I am overwhelmed by the mere thought of it, so overwhelmed that I get bogged down in trying to understand it. But the truth is that the glory of God is the pure presence and existence of God which has no sin stain and that is what is left as a result of purification. At least that is one aspect of it. Another aspect of glory, as in “we give glory to God” is an action of praise and communication that acknowledges His supreme nature and His place over creation. When we give Him glory, we acknowledge His authority of everything else that exists. Christ is glorified in our lives through the victory we have over death. He has taken away the penalty and forgiven our sins because He is able. He is able because of the cross. So, the second aspect of this prayer is that we are made to testify of His nature by reflecting His glory (or His pureness) which He has equipped us for by His Spirit. So the prayer is that we would rise up and testify, just as He rose to testify of the Father’s authority over all things including evil and its penalty.  Now look at verse 26. The glory of God in us is reflected by the love of God that flows through us. Christ’s prayer is that we would love the world with the same love that the Father had for the Son, and the same love that the Son had for the world, would be in us. Not so that we could hold on to it. If we can hold on to it, then we really don’t have it. The love that Christ has for the sinning world and the church is so overwhelming that we must let it go through us. That is what Christ wants for His birthday. The Father’s love and His love being reflected and demonstrated because of our love for Him.

As we prepare to celebrate Advent this year, let us celebrate the first Advent the same we would with anyone else. Let’s give Him what He wants for His birthday while we anticipate the second Advent…His coming. Are you ready for Advent?