Jesus says in prayer with God: “The glory that you have given me, I have given them, so that they may be one with you, as we [you and I] are one.”
John 17:22
Notes for Contemplation as You Use this Devotional:
- In this passage by the Gospel Writer called John, from the section sometimes titled, “The Prayer for All Believers,” Jesus talks to God as his beloved parent. His prayer is that everyone knows their divine connection with God as much as he does. In fact, teaching this Truth has been the hallmark of his ministry.
- Furthermore, Jesus wants everyone to know that they also are one of God’s beloved children, fully divine and fully human, destined by their birthright to express all their divine parent is. The oneness Jesus describes is two-fold: Being one with God, as well as one with your own divine nature, the Christ (your anointed, truest self).
- Your glory is your spiritual understanding. It’s knowing that you have the same access to God as Jesus had. You need no intermediary to feel connected with God or to recognize spiritual truth. This glory is for your current lifetime, in the kingdom of heaven—a place of peace and plenty—you help create on Earth now, not in some afterlife when you die.
- When your spiritual understanding is strong, you feel Holy Spirit, the divine activity of God, working in and through you as you live your purpose and connect with other people. You focus all your energy and attention on discerning and doing what’s yours to do, not on what someone else is meant to do.
- Martha Smock, long-time editor of Daily Word says that each of us is here, in the world, by divine appointment. When you recognize this, she says, you no longer wonder what your purpose is. You know that you’re one of God’s ambassadors, that you can “spiritualize your thoughts and feelings, to practice the Christ [anointed] principles in your daily living, to make the kingdom of heaven a reality in your consciousness [mind], and in your outer life.”
- Demonstration is your evidence of how well you live your life. As one of God’s beloved children, you are—as Jesus was—in the world by divine appointment to share sacred gifts and meet a divine appointment. Your appointment is to use your wisdom and spiritual understanding to serve the wellbeing of at least one other person.
- How you embrace your divine appointment may change over time. For example, you might stay home with your children when they’re small, but return to work outside your home when they enter school. Your role as loving parent remains, but living that role evolves as your children grow from youngster to teenager to adult to parent of their own children.
Contemplation Questions:
As you reflect on your life and circumstances, ask yourself:
- How do I recognize my oneness with God?
- List, word map, or illustrate all you recognize.
- How do I describe my spiritual understanding?
- List, word map, or illustrate your personal description.
- What is my current appointment?
- List, word map, or illustrate your appointment.
- To meet this divine appointment, what is mine to do now?
- List, word map, or illustrate only what you discern is yours to do.
As you use this devotional, remember: The same glory that was in Jesus and other spiritual masters is also in you. Your divine appointment is to radiate that glory as you, in what you think, say, and do, and how you contribute to others’ wellbeing. So, focus less on what they’re doing and more on your oneness with God. Trust your intuition and know that whatever you need is being revealed to you. Set your heart at compassion, and use your divine ideas to fulfill your appointment.
© 2024 – Rev. Jennifer L. Sacks – All rights reserved.
Photo from Shutterstock by Ralf Liebhold.
