“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”
Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.”
John 14:15-24 New International Version (NIV)
Love is not something we can simply say we feel if it is not in our hearts. God examines those beating organs He placed within us from the inside. When we profess Jesus Christ as our Savior, the Holy Spirit moves in and sets up shop. There's work to be done that began on the Cross. A cleansing process is performed and we are transformed into the likeness of Christ. Jesus died to live in us. We can try to fool people in the world because the world doesn't know the difference. The world can't see what is inside our hearts. But we can't deceive God. He knows those who belong to Him because He lives inside of them.
Many people claim to believe in Christ. Yet, when His Spirit truly resides within us, it shows. It shows in our behavior. It is demonstrated in our actions even when we aren't acting quite right. We all fall short of God's glory because it is His glory and not ours. Perhaps that is why He sent a Helper to live within us to guide us when we lose our way as we await the return of our Savior. God doesn't want us lost when we are trying to follow His Son because He is leading us to our ultimate destination—His eternal Kingdom. He loves us too much to let us wander off and when we truly love Him, He literally makes His home in us. It's almost like we have a chip planted in us that pulls us back when we go astray!
Some won't understand how this works because He's not home yet. However, God makes this available to everyone through Jesus Christ. We just have to look for it if we want it. Then we have to ask for it. That's the choice God gives us to make. That's the freewill He has given to us. He has given us a choice to give back our freewill and let His will be done. Then He moves in and cleans up our mess. We just have to do what He says by trying to follow His Word, the most important of which is to live as those who truly love Him and each other. But that's only if we really want Him living in our hearts and He knows if we do. Who wants to live where they know they aren't welcome?
“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.” John 10:14-15 NIV
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