In

I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.  (John 14:20)

Never has the tiny, two-letter word “in” brought so much meaning, significance, comfort and encouragement as it does when we see it in the verse set before us today. When was the last time you gave serious thought to this truth about the word in as it relates to your relationship with the Triune God? Let’s pause to consider it today and allow the cosmic comfort of Christ to wash over us.

When Matthew called the Lord Immanuel (“God with us,” Matthew 1:23), he was saying God is with us in every imaginable way. God is not only for us and God is not only with us, as marvelous as those two truths are, but God is in us, and that makes all the difference in the world! The psalmist tells us that our God is “an ever-present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). Our God is not some distant deity who cares little for His creation. He is here; He is in-volved in every aspect of our lives. He is our Shelter and our Strength. He is our Rock and our Redeemer. He is our Help and our Hope. He is “a fortress of salvation for his anointed one” (Psalm 28:8).

Jesus is in-volved in our personal lives. He is in-volved in our professional lives. He is in-volved in our relational lives. When our Lord promised never to leave nor forsake us, He meant what He said! We will never be left as unwanted orphans, for we are His, having been purchased by His precious blood. And we are to know this truth by way of personal experience. We are to be conscious of Christ’s presence as we participate in His life, walking by faith and not by sight, trusting Him even when we cannot trace Him.

Because of what Jesus has done for us, we are now temples of the Holy Spirit. In Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28) . . . and He lives in us! Regardless of where this message finds you today, ponder this for a moment: The God who created the universe created you in order to dwell in you and have a deeply personal relationship with you. Isn’t that wonderful? Isn’t that almost unbelievable?

Sadly, for some Christians, everything I’ve written here is unbelievable, because it is not their experience. They do not sense God’s presence; they do not feel that He is in-volved with them at all. And I’m sure that’s true from their perspective; this intimate relationship with the living Lord does not just “happen.” James tells us, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you” (James 4:8 ESV). We must spend time with Him every day in order to sense His in-volvement in our lives. I often remind our congregation that if you feel like God is distant, it was not God who moved away; it was you who moved away from Him.

How is it with you today? Are you inviting Him in . . . to every aspect of your life? When you do that, fully and sincerely and consistently, you will know the peace that passes all understanding of which Scripture speaks, and you will be filled with the inexpressible and glorious joy that is the promise of our Savior’s presence.  This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!