Companion and Consideration

If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. John 15: 7

Companion – Having fulfilled the condition as absolutely and genuinely factual, you then have a companion in Jesus. And My words abide in you.

As ordinary and obvious as this may be, I believe that hearing it will jolt us into needed realities. When our granddaughter lived with me, I was her companion at home. She lived under my roof and obeyed the rules I set forth. She grew up with me and knew me inside out. She knew me intimately, personally and spiritually. She knew me as no other knew me, simply by being there all the time.

Here is a most comforting and strengthening word. To abide with Jesus is not just to have His companionship, but it is to know Him as your Companion. It is to have His words abiding in you. We know Jesus as the Word, the Living Word, but it is a most blessed and favoured life who comes to know and grow knowing His words - teachings, sentiments, wisdom, thoughts, desires and more – which abide in us. First of all, Jesus’ words, abiding in us are faith words. His abiding words keep us, feed us, strengthen us, and most of all, they guarantee us intimacy and companionship with Him. You and I must know His words in us, abiding and active.   

 Consideration - Is this not consideration given to you, to be told this? You will ask what you desire. This is much simpler that we make it, more reasonable and truer as well. Be honest now? How many believers truly believe that Jesus literally means what He says here? How many are mortally afraid to ask, because they know, even before asking that they will not get what they desire?

I return to our granddaughter when she was much younger, of school age, living with me. She knew me and I knew her. She knew, my standards and budget, for example and knew that she could ask for things as she desired. But she also knew that her asking had to be according to my budget, not her friends’, and not according to her keeping-up-appearances with her friends’ drama. Desires, according to any selfishness, foolishness and pride, were not a consideration. There were times when she knew that I would not give her such a desire, but she would ask anyway, trying to see whether I would change my mind and give her what she desired.

Is this not what we sometimes do with Jesus? You see, if we are abiding in Jesus and have His words abiding in us, we know His will, His mind and His heart on many matters which the Holy Spirit brings to us, but we go against Him, and ask amiss.  How do we expect Jesus to consider our requests and be untrue to Himself? If ever He is untrue to Himself, He will be untrue to God. Jesus is True, Right and Just in all His words and ways. You and I must make our desires, Jesus’ desires.