The End

. . . and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them . –John 17:26b

No man knew the name of God in the Old Testament. We are used to calling him Father, but we forget what a revelation this must have been to the Jews in the first century. The Father had been made known through the Son. But Jesus tells us that this was not a onetime act. For not only would his beloved know God by the name Father, they would come to know him as he lived out his name in their lives.

Jesus final statement in his high priestly prayer tells us that the Father loves us as sons. He loves us the same way he loves his only begotten Son. Every day the Son works in our lives to make that love known to us. As it is worked in us, we are changed, and made more like him. The more we know what it means to be loved, the more we are able to love God, love each other, and sacrifice ourselves for each.

This is not an easy process. Each day challenges us to trust the Father and the Son. But as we do, we see that they are in fact who they say they are. Every hard circumstance is designed to reveal that God really is our Father. He preserves us in trial, and seeks to strengthen us. He does not want us to remain children, but wants us to be fully mature saints, who are capable of enjoying him in every way. Which is why he sent his Son, and why the Son still works in us – neither will rest until we know him fully – until we know him as does the Son. That is their end.