Your Last Words.

If you knew you were going to die (boy, what a great way to start a blog post on this early morning of Valentine's Day!), you would probably chose your words carefully as you spoke with your loved ones for the last time.  As you said good-bye, you would look them each in the eye and tell them one by one how much you love and care for them, how special they are to you.  You might reflect on the good times you had together, but you might also ask them to look ahead to the future, making them promise to keep on living life to the fullest, to make the most of each day.  Your final words will be the last thing your loved ones hear from you; they will remember what you say for the rest of their lives.

As we enter into this season of Lent, I am amazed at where God already has me reading in His Word.  Sometimes for special holidays, such as Lent or Easter or Christmas, I will stop whatever devotion "plan" I may have been doing or whatever book I may have been studying at the time so I can focus on Scripture related specifically to the season or holiday.  I even thought about writing a post about God's love today, seeing as how we are celebrating Valentine's Day -- the day of love -- and without God first loving us and showing us the ultimate example of love by sending His One and Only Son to die on the cross to pay for OUR sins, to die in OUR place so that WE might live, we would not truly know the meaning of love, or how to show love to anyone else for that matter.

But alas, God didn't give me the words for that blog, at least not yet.  The day has only begun, so who knows what else He might try to teach me in the next 15 or so hours.  For now, though, He is keeping my heart and mind focused on the idea of preparing for Jesus' death, and thankfully also His resurrection to follow!  And, I didn't even have to change devotion plans or anything; I just kept right on reading through the gospel of John!  Coincidentally, I "just so happen" to be in chapter 17, when Jesus looks up into heaven and opens His heart and candidly prays for His disciples (and all believers to follow).  These are some of His last words as He prepares for His final days on earth.  He knows His time with His disciples is drawing near.  He knows what lies ahead -- anguish, grief, pain like none of us have ever experienced.  He knows Judas will betray Him.  He knows He will be arrested, beaten, scorned, mocked, ridiculed, and ultimately hung on a cross to die. He knows His disciples will be scared and frightened, confused and shaken.  And so, instead of retreating and feeling sorry for Himself, He turns His attention to His closest friends and prays for them.

I was going to try and summarize or highlight the parts of Jesus' prayer that stood out to me the most, but as I kept reading, more and more of Jesus' last words struck a chord in my heart.  I decided to just share the entire prayer from beginning to end and let Jesus' words speak for themselves.  Who knows, maybe something He says will touch you where you are at, maybe it will be something completely different than what I would have chosen to expand on in my blog.  God has a way of knowing each and every one of us and meeting us right where we are at in life at the very moment we are reading His Word.  I pray you will be encouraged and strengthened, your spirits lifted, your hearts renewed.

Lean in close and listen carefully now as Jesus speaks some of His last words, for they are what He considered to be the most important thing for us to hear.  Above all else this is what Jesus wanted us to know before He breathed His last and died, returning to His Father in heaven:

Father, the time has come.  Glorify Your Son so He can give glory back to you.  For You have given Him authority over everyone in all the earth.  He gives eternal life to each one You have given Him.  And this is THE way to have eternal life -- to know You, the ONLY true God, and Jesus Christ, the One You sent to earth.  I brought glory to You here on earth by doing everything You told Me to do.  And now, Father, bring Me into the glory we shared before the world began.

I have told these men about You.  They were in the world, but then You gave them to Me.  Actually, they were always Yours, and You gave them to Me; and they have kept Your word.  Now they know that everything I have is a gift from You for I have passed on to them the words You gave Me; and they accepted them and know that I came from You, and they believe You sent Me.

My prayer is NOT for the world, but for those You have given Me, because they belong to You.  And all of them, since they are Mine, belong to You; and You have given them back to Me, so they are My glory!  Now I am departing the world; I am leaving them behind and coming to You.  Holy Father, keep them and care for them -- all those You have given Me -- so that they will be united just as We are.  During my time here, I have kept them safe.  I guarded them so that not one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as the Scriptures foretold.

And now I am coming to You.  I have told them many things while I was with them so they would be filled with My joy.  I have given them Your word.  And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not.  I'm not asking You to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one.  They are not part of this world any more than I am.  Make them pure and holy be teaching them Your words of truth.  As You sent Me into the world, I am sending them into the world.  And I give Myself entirely to You so they also might be entirely Yours.

I am praying not only for these disciples but also for ALL you will ever believe in Me because of their testimony.  My prayer for all of them is that they will be one, just as You and I are one, Father -- that just as You are in Me and I am in You, so they will be in Us, and the world will believe You sent Me.

I have given them the glory You gave Me, so that they may be one, as We are -- I in them and You in Me, all being perfected into one.  Then the world will know that You sent Me and will understand that You love Me.  Father, I want these whom You've given Me to be with Me, so they can see My glory.  You gave Me the glory because You loved Me even before the world began!

O righteous Father, the world doesn't know You, but I do; and these disciples know You sent Me.  And I have revealed You to them and will keep on revealing You.  I will do this so that Your love for Me may be in them and I in them.

I don't have anything else to say or add.  I will just let Jesus' last words speak for themselves.

Just know this one thing, on this Valentine's Day, GOD LOVES YOU.  I hope you saw/heard that in Jesus' prayer, that you know beyond a shadow of doubt that He loves you and wants you to be filled with His love -- and the joy and peace that come as a result of experiencing that love.