“…And _the very words you gave to me to speak
I have passed on to them.
They have received your words
and carry them in their hearts…”
(John 17:8)
What is your brain saying or singing to you when you wake up in the morning? The theme song of that series we binge watched last night? The details of the spreadsheet we were thinking about when we fell asleep? How about the rest of the day?
Right now my brain is filled with a combination of medical facts, Health-and-Safety Guidelines, To-Do Lists and Media items. I am constantly making sticky notes for my desk and probably utter the words “…we mustn’t forget about…” 50 times a day…
Pretty sure that is not what Jesus meant when He was praying to His Father about His people.
The Words YOU gave me, I gave it to them. They RECEIVED it… and the CARRY IT IN THEIR HEARTS. This is what Jesus said to God the Father about us. We accepted the words, we made it our own. We cherish it and think about it day and night. We made it our own.
What we contemplate the whole day is what will fill my heart:
“…Fill your thoughts with my words until they penetrate deep into your spirit…”
(Proverbs 4:21)
We learn by doing… true enough, but I think this is more like skydiving… You kinda need to get it right the first time. The test is very much Pass/Fail when the earth rushes up to you, everything you internalised needs to come out at the right time in the right sequence.
When the world crashes over you, then the Words of Jesus needs to float up from our hearts and carry us to the surface… but the only way they can is if they were etched on your heart, if they were written on your palms.
