Please Read: John 14 

     In the book of John chapter 14 and verses 15-21, Jesus shares with His disciples, that He will soon leave this world and return to the Father.  Jesus gathers His best friends, the apostles, together and gives them some important instructions before He leaves. Listening to their Master speak about His departure, the apostles probably became worried and fearful. Jesus had become their HOPE.  How could they possibly live in this terribly difficult world without hope?

     All of us need something we can hang onto; some glimmer of hope that things will get better or that there is hope for a better life.  Or maybe that there is some meaning to this existence.

    So, in the 14th chapter of John’s Gospel, Jesus, realizing the apprehension of His apostles, responds by telling them that they will never be far from God; God will never abandon them.  Jesus promises that He will send the Holy Spirit, Who will serve as their guide and counselor.  The Holy Spirit will live with them and in them.  Next Jesus assures His friends that they will not be left like orphans.  And then Jesus says something which is very encouraging and inspiring, something which is very hopeful.  Jesus says: “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 know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I in you.” (John 14:19)

     We will realize that Jesus is in the Father, and we are in Jesus, and Jesus is in us!

In other words, We can’t detach ourselves from Jesus, we are all intertwined together, Jesús will never leave us, we will never be without Jesus.

     Dear friends, do you know that the Holy Spirit dwells in you?  Do you know that Jesus is in the Father, that you are in Christ, and that Christ is in you?  If we know that, in the deepest recesses of our souls, then, we have hope!!!

     1st Peter tells us as believers, we are not to be frightened; “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…”

Some of us are good at telling others what we have and what they don’t have, regarding the Christian faith; regarding the reason for our hope. But do we do this with gentleness and respect?

     As Christians we are to be human, we are to be real.  If we have the Holy Spirit living in our hearts, if we are to realize that Jesus is in the Father, and we are in Jesus, and Jesus is in us, then when it comes to sharing our hope, when it comes to evangelism, we can be our ordinary selves and it will turn out to be good enough.  All Jesus needs are the five loaves and two fishes of our lives, something we already have.  We are to let others know that we are just ordinary people, just like anybody else.

     Remember that we are to be fishers of people, and those who are fished for are to be respected as God’s most valuable commodities.  Remember the story of the lost coin, the lost sheep, the lost Son?  You know what they all had in common?  They were all extremely valued, they were treasures, they were special, they were missed.  Too often we misuse the word “lost.”  Too often we use it in a derogatory manner.  Maybe we should stop referring to those who are not Christians as “LOST” and start referring to them as “Missed by God”, “Loved by God”, “Valuable to God”.  And if they are valuable to God, their value and their infinite sacred worth should, must be respected by us as well!!!  St. Francis of Assisi once said: “Preach the Gospel everywhere you go, and if necessary, use words.”

     There is a picture of an old burned-out mountain shack.  All that remained was the chimney… the charred debris of what had been a family’s sole possession.  In front of this destroyed home stood an old grandfather-looking man dressed only in his underclothes with a small boy clutching a pair of patched overalls.  The child was crying.

Beneath the picture were the words that the artist felt the old man was speaking to the boy.

They were simple words, yet they presented a profound philosophy of life.  Those words were: “Hush child, God ain’t dead!”

     Instead of that picture being a reminder of the despair in life, it is a reminder of hope. Jesus is in the Father, we are in Christ, and Christ is in us.

May your day be filled with the hope in Christ Jesus.

 SHARE YOUR HOPE!!!