QT 23/04/2024 Tuesday John 14 Access to the Father through Jesus 通过耶稣接近天父

QT 23/04/2024 Tuesday John 14
http://www.esvbible.org/john14

The desire to encounter the true God is universal. The search for it ends with Jesus Christ because whoever has seen Jesus has seen the Father (John 14:8).

This calls for a response for those who has encountered Jesus, be it reading from Scripture or in the lives of those who practice this Scripture. Access to this true God is expressed in various ways.

Jesus invites all to come to the Father through Him (John 14:6). Knowing Jesus is equated with knowing the Father (John 14:7) in view of the oneness between Jesus and the Father (John 14:11).

There is a passive part of our walk with Jesus: Heaven is depicted as an enormous residence, prepared by Jesus for His followers. He will come again to take us there to be with Him (John 14:3). We wait eagerly for that. The Holy Spirit would teach us all things, which would be in sync with what Jesus has said (John 14:26).

But there is also the active part of growing our relationship with God, which is to keep the commandments of Jesus (John 14:15) as proof of our love for Him (John 14:21). We thus enjoy the presence of the Holy Spirit (John 14:17) and the love of the Father (John 14:23). In fact, the Father and the Son will indwell the one who loves Jesus and keep His word (John 14:23).

REFLECTION: If we have both the passive and active elements of maintaining this relationship, it is no wonder that there would be the enjoyment of peace of the kind that the world cannot give (John 14:27), even though we are still in the world, not in heaven yet.

星期二2024年4月23日 今日读经：约翰福音14章
http://m.bbintl.org/bible/ncv/Jhn/14/
通过耶稣接近天父

想遇见真神的欲望是很普遍的。凡寻找的遇见耶稣基督就停止了，因为凡看见了耶稣的就看见了父(约14:8)。

那些经历耶稣的都应当回应，无论是藉着读经或是在生活中活出圣经。通往这真神的管道有几方面的描述。

耶稣邀请所有的人通过祂来到父那里(约14:6)。认识耶稣就是认识父(约14:7)，因为耶稣和父是一体的(约14:11)。

我们在与耶稣同行的时候，有一部分是被动的:天堂是一个很大的地方，是耶稣预备给祂的跟随者的。祂必再来接我们到祂那里去(约14:3)。我们满心地期待。圣灵会教导我们一切的事，这也会与耶稣曾说过的话一致(约14:26)。

但也有一部分是需要我们主动地与神建立关系，就是遵守耶稣的命令(约14:15)以证明我们对祂的爱(约14:21)。我们因此享受圣灵的同在(约14:17)和父的爱(约14:23)。事实上，父和子会与那爱耶稣并遵守祂的话的人同住(约14:23)。

反思:如果我们在维持这段关系时能够做到被动和主动，就能够享有这个世界所不能够给的平安(约14:27)，即使我们现在还活在世上，还没到天堂。