Becoming One With The Holder of The Pen

John 17:1-11

1. After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.

2. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.

3. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

4. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.

5. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

6. "I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.

7. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you.

8. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.

9. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.

10. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.

11. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name--the name you gave me--so that they may be one as we are one.

Nothing else matters, nothing.

From the hidden treasure find, to a clear statement about how all will pass away, the scriptures all center on a truth most seem to miss...a connection with The God who created us is the only thing that matters.

Ascending/descending, it's not about heaven and hell. It isn't about us going to a better place, it's about us becoming a better place.

Relational faith is given to us in order to connect, and walk with The Author. For some it is a small amount, for others it is larger.

Consider the parable of The Talents. Like many teachings in all of scripture, you can easily take the meaning to form a works based theology, but the whole of the book points over, and over, to a faith only salvation plan. The Talents have been wrongly taught as "abilities" for centuries. Yet, what ability can you "loan to the bankers", and at the very least, earn interest?

You can't.

Now, if the Talent represents the measure of faith we are given at the point of salvation, well, now it makes perfect sense. The greater measure of faith, 10 Talents, will generate a heart that goes to town. The guy doubles it, the same as the guy who received just 5.

The faith they each received from the Master, motivates them to dig deeper into this God given relationship. The result, is that measure of Faith grows. As time passes, they know Him better, closer, and He becomes all they live for. This is what all of scripture points to, from the history of Israel, to the psalms, proverbs and even the parables.

Jesus above speaks of becoming one with Him, and The Father, God outside of time and space. It is a rather big deal.

The distance.

Sin, is an archery term meaning the distance from where the arrow lands to the center of the target. If God is the center, then the distance between us is the problem.

Becoming one, is as close as you can get. It IS hitting the center.

No, He is not saying we become God. That is the lie that separates. That is why we work to bridge that gap ourselves. We think our effort, our penance, will make us more like God.

It doesn't, and the drive to be perfect, to live according to the Law, the Law Jesus finished, is our attempt to ascend and become like God.

We must descend.

In Philippians Chapter 2, God clearly states through Paul, that the only way to ascend, is to descend and trust God to lift us up.

We cannot be God. Yet, as Jesus said above, we can become one with God. This is the best we can be. It is hitting the target. It is doubling the "talent".

This is the real success in life.

It's not about making your mark on the world. It's not about helping lots of people. It's not about a worldwide ministry. No, it's about becoming one with the Guy holding the Pen.

Look at the Don Quixote story. Don Quixote, was crazy, crazy enough to break the fourth wall.

AI quote from Google: "Breaking the fourth wall" is a narrative technique in theater, television, and film that acknowledges the artificiality of a performance and the existence of the audience. It can involve performers directly addressing the audience, speaking to the camera, or referring to the play as a play. This technique can help writers and directors connect more intimately with the audience, and can also be a creative tool for storytelling.

I love this: "acknowledges the artificiality of a performance and the existence of the audience."

Now, of course, our Audience isn't angels or demons, it is God Himself...alone.

The greatest gift of Faith is "knowing" God is real. The ongoing pursuit to increase that "talent", will eventually, given enough time and "windmill" challenges, enable us to fully break the forth wall.

You see, when the "character" engages the Author directly, he will eventually see that he is, in a very real sense, an extension of The Author. The character, and The Author are now one.

Again, we are not, and never will be God. He is vast, and we are itty bitty, in comparison. Still, He is awesome, and can be in us, and through us, just the same.

Walking by Faith, or walking by the Spirit IS this. You can know God well enough, to KNOW that He is in you, and you are in Him, even in your limitations and failures. You can trust that He is not just guiding, but also walking so closely with you that you KNOW you will do exactly what He wants, when He wants.

Jesus: "I always do what I see the Father doing."

Sound crazy?

Of course it does, it's just as crazy as a man fighting windmill monsters for someone who doesn't care about him. It will always look like something completely nuts and worthless to the side characters. Ah, but to the Author, who you can be one with, well, you are the star of the show... the reason He wrote the book.

You see, to THE character, that The Author is expressing Himself through...nothing else matters, not what he accomplishes, not what people think of him, and not how often he fails. No, the only thing that matters is becoming one.

That is what Faith is heading to.

So, if and when you "see" the truth of God's existence because of the finished work of Jesus, resist the temptation to "do" all those wonderful works and just pursue Him first and foremost. When you really connect with Him, personally, closely, He will do all those wonderful things with you. Then, and only then, will anything you do really matter.

Of course, you could always bury the gift, and never reach out to Him. This will end badly, if you do.

As Jesus said, at the very least, you could put your tiny faith on deposit with the "bankers" to just earn a little "interest"...

Do you see it? Yes, the least you can do is to listen to some preacher teach, while you do nothing. You may grow that wonderful gift of faith, a tiny bit, yet you will never really become one...especially, if you are trusting a guy who is going in the wrong direction, by telling you that you must ascend, and work for it.

Multitudes were fans of Jesus, 70 were sent out, twelve were disciples, but three were His closest friends.

Where do you want to be?

That is the measure you were given.

Now, what are you going to do with it?