John 20
Rebecca Lightfoot
Toward the end of the book that John wrote of his personal experiences with&about Jesus,he says n John20:30-31,”And truly Jesus did many other things n the presence of His disciples,which r not written n this book;but these r written that u may believe that Jesus is the Christ,the Son of God,& that believing u may have life n His name”.John’s HOPE is that we will not JUST believe,but that by believing Jesus is the Christ,the Son of God,that we will become living “representatives” of The Glory of His Holiness;His Righteousness;His Grace;His Mercy;His Word;& His Spirit...by living our lives through TRUSTING in Jesus for HOW we live!In essence,John is saying that “just believing” these things about Jesus does not result in us having the “life” John is talking about!After all,Satan himself believe these things about Jesus through personal experiences he had w Jesus,including when he was banished from heaven by The Lord(Isaiah14:12-15;Revelation12:7-12);when Satan tried to tempt Jesus(Matthew4:1-11;Mark1:12-13Luke4:1-13),and when Jesus destroys Satan’s plans to take away all hope mankind could ever have of redemption(Hebrews2:14-15).In other-words,Satan absolutely believes that Jesus is The Christ;is The Son of God!BUT,Satan rejects giving Jesus the Honor&Praise for WHO Jesus is & rebels against the Love of God for his own rebellious&selfish desires/having life that he trusts into hands other than the Loving Arms of Jesus.In a way Satan is much like the younger son n the parable Jesus tells about the prodigal son that decides to leave the love of his father to have what he thought was a better life,a “more free” life of deciding his own pleasures.The difference with the prodigal is that he is humbled by what his decisions have brought into his life,& n his “pit” turns back toward the love of his father!When Satan finds himself n his “pit”,he grows ever more arrogant and turns further away from the Love of God n all he does and all he thinks!And the rebellion of Satan gets worse&worse,making him so full of rebellion that he is forever an enemy of The Lord and those The Lord has called to Himself!This is why John says,”...but these r written that u may believe that Jesus is the Christ,the Son of God,& that believing u may have life n His name”!!!!!There is a growing crescendo n these words as the final plea is made->”that by believing u may have life in His name”->that our hearts/minds/lives will be so impacted by the TRUTHS of Christ that we will be compelled(by His great expressions of love for us)to trust Him with our lives...to seek and follow Him only!Dear Lord,forgive me for letting my life b “in my name” so many times....please help me to b increasingly aware of the ways that You reveal Your Glory;Your Holiness;Your Grace;You Mercy;Your Love...to me,and may my life b so overwhelming impacted by these TRUTHS that my life always turn to You,& that I seek and follow You only....to live in Your Name.