[I pray] that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You. — John 17:21
In doing research for his epic story Root, Alex Haley embarked on the freighter African Star, sailing from Monrovia, Liberia, to Jacksonville, Florida. He did so to better understand the travails of his ancestors, who were brought in chains to America.
Haley descended into the ship’s hold, stripped himself of protective clothing, and tried to sleep on some thick, rough-hewn bracing. After the third miserable night, he gave up and returned to his cabin. But he could now write with some small degree of empathy of the sufferings of his forebears.
It’s one thing to say we believe that Jesus Christ, the second Person of the holy Trinity, identifies Himself with us. It’s quite another to feel the blessed experience of our identification with Him. But we need not resort to extreme measures to grasp the truth of that oneness, for Christ Himself has endured the most extreme of all measures to identify with us. He went to the cross to reconcile a sinful human race to Himself (Rom. 5:10-11).
Reading Scripture, praying, and partaking of the Lord’s Supper can help us gain at least some awareness of our identification with our Lord and Savior. But regardless of how we feel, our unity with Him is a fact that we must grasp in faith. — Vernon Grounds
With longing all my heart is filled
That like Him I may be,
As on the wondrous thought I dwell,
That Christ liveth in me. — Whittle
READ: Ephesians 4:1-6
The just shall live by faith — not by feeling.
The Bible in one year:
• Mark 7-11
• Proverbs 16:22-33