He tells us via Screwtape that God desires for us to be completely ourselves, while being united with Him. A good way to see how this works is by Jesus's parable of the vine and branches. Jesus tells us that if we remain in Him, and He remains in us, that we will have eternal life.
And we often think of eternal life as meaning "I'll go to heaven when I die." And hopefully that IS part of what it means. But it means more than that. It means abundant life now. He begins giving us eternal life today, not when we die. And that eternal life comes to us by being united to Him. By "remaining" in Him.
So you might find yourself wondering how to "remain in Him". Well, it means seeking Him each day. It means spending time in prayer, talking to Him and listening for His voice as He speaks to us. And it means confessing our sins when we sin (because we all do, right?), since sin will "cut us off" from remaining in Him, and if we get cut off, we wither and die.
The cool thing is, you don't have to try to figure out if you're "remaining in Him" or not. If you are, then asking Him to fill your life with His presence, forgive your sins, and bring you more fully into His will can only help. If you're separated, then this prayer will reunite you. If you're already "remaining in Him", then the prayer will just bring you closer to Him.
God, thank You for the living vine of Your love, which brings us eternal life.
1 comment:
Very well stated
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