John 14:18-23 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.
Many people know the pain of being abandoned. A parent died or left when they were little. A spouse walked out of the marriage and never looked back. A friendship that felt deep suddenly disappeared. The loneliness of being abandoned is one of the most painful experiences anyone can endure.
Does God abandon us?
Jesus knew that the answer to that question was one that our hurt hearts needed to hear. God is in heaven; we are on earth. Jesus came down to be with us and build a relationship with us. People of the world hate and disobey Jesus. People of the Kingdom love and obey Jesus. Knowing He would soon die, rise, and return to Heaven, Jesus anticipated that those of us who love Him and are left in this world might feel abandoned as “orphans”.
Jesus promised that God’s presence would continue with God’s people. This is why God the Holy Spirit descended upon His people after Jesus ascended to heaven.
God is relational. The Father, Son, and Spirit have lived together in perfect love for all eternity without beginning or end. And, by having a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit you can enjoy the presence of God in your life and live like an adored child rather than an abandoned orphan. When Jesus returned to heaven, He went to prepare a place for you and sent the Spirit to help you and lead you Home.
What things in your life (e.g. folly, rebellion, laziness) are possibly hindering your personal relationship with the Holy Spirit?