How To Be With Jesus
What does it mean to be with Jesus?
In the New Testament book of John, chapter 1, we see John the Baptizer hanging out with two of his disciples. When John saw Jesus coming along, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” Then it says…
37 The two disciples heard him say this and followed Jesus. 38 When Jesus turned and noticed them following him, he asked them, “What are you looking for?”
They said to him, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
39 “Come and you’ll see,” he replied. So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon.
Today, we might say something like, “Come and hang out with me.” This was and still is Jesus’ open invitation – to come and be with him. But there’s a problem. Jesus isn’t here… at least not in the flesh. He’s at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. So, how can we be with Jesus?
Well, Jesus answers that question in John chapter 14. The closer Jesus gets to the cross, the more he starts talking about how he’s going away. But in his place, he’s gonna send the Holy Spirit. In John chapter 14, Jesus says…
16 “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever.”
That phrase, another Counselor, can be translated as another like me or another one of me.
Jesus continues…
17 “He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive him because it doesn’t see him or know him. But you do know him, because he remains with you and will be in you.
18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you.”
Now, verses 26-27…
26 “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.
27 “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful.”
So, the way we can be with Jesus today is through his Holy Spirit. This means that the primary goal of apprenticeship to Jesus is learning to live in a constant state of awareness of and connection to the Holy Spirit.
In the very next chapter of John, chapter 15, Jesus gives us a metaphor for what this looks like. Starting in verse 1, Jesus says…
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 Every branch in me that does not produce fruit he removes, and he prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me.”
A keyword in these verses is the word remain. It comes from the Greek word μένω and can also be translated as dwell or abide; it’s the idea of staying at home, and in this case, in Jesus.
Jesus continues…
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown aside like a branch and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be my disciples.”
So, Jesus’ metaphor is that of a branch remaining in the vine. He’s telling us that we ought to get into the Father’s presence and stay there. Now, this doesn’t mean we have to live an ascetic lifestyle in some monastery somewhere. What it comes down to is learning how to be in two places at one time.
You’re eating breakfast, and you’re in the Father’s presence.
You’re doing email, and you’re in the Father’s presence.
You’re in a meeting with a coworker, and you’re in the Father’s presence.
You’re on the golf course, and you’re in the Father’s presence.
Dallas Willard said, “The first and most basic thing we can and must do is to keep God before our minds.” And this takes a lifetime of practice. It doesn’t just happen. Abiding in the vine all day long, as I’m on email, in traffic, in a meeting, or dealing with a four-year-old, takes a lifetime of practice to master keeping God before our minds. And in the over-busyness of our lives in today’s hyperconnected digital world, it takes more intentionality than ever.
This is where the spiritual disciplines are essential if you want to experience the life that Jesus promised, which is life to the full. Now, there’s no official list of the spiritual disciplines, but in the top 10 are always things like silence and solitude, prayer, fasting, reading the Bible, corporate worship (or going to church every Sunday), and so on. But what we need to realize is that the spiritual disciplines are all a means to an end.
For example, why do we read the Bible? Is it just to say we read the Bible? Is it just to gain knowledge? We’re getting closer. We read the Bible to find out how to live the way of Jesus. The same is true for the rest of the spiritual disciplines. We’re not trying to earn something. We’re already sons and daughters of our Father in Heaven. All the spiritual disciplines are a means to an end. And the end is, first and foremost, to be with Jesus.