John And Paul

FRI., MAY 7, 1993, 6:03 AM
FARM, STUDY

Every now and again it is good for you to go back to the Holy Scriptures and review the influences that brought you to Me, to your present faith, and, in effect, to this desk this morning. John and Paul are common names in your culture, given to boys by families that are not, or are only nominally, Christian. Then there are Christian families who consciously want sons to have Biblical names, but also ones that fit in easily in the cultures… no Obadiahs, or Habakkuks, please.

Interestingly, with five sons you didn’t name one after either of these two, those whose experiences and writing of Scripture were… and continue to be… the most important for your faith (besides Me, of course). (John Patrick selected that name for himself, but his given name is Jonathan, a good Old Testament one.) But all of this is just interesting observation by Me on a summer morning in Spring.

John was a disciple, and John wrote a Gospel… or at least got credit for it… at this point in earth time accuracy in matters such as this are irrelevant. Your memory tells you that it was in studying this Gospel, in a noon study group in Menlo Park in the 1950’s, that you came to be born again. To you, this means that despite being baptized, being a Church member, and even being ordained as an Elder, your Christian faith was now “real.” That was a necessary step toward this present relationship with Me. The study group was led by your friend John, and you still call him a friend, though you see him as more “conservative” than you are. You suspect that he would be “bothered” by this process of Ours, even as it is as “fundy” as its possible to be.

John tells important stories… the wedding at Cana, the experiences with Nicodemus (not a popular name for baby boys) and with the unnamed woman at the well… and others that should be as memorable for you as these. (This is a push toward some purposeful study in the days just ahead… after reading Finals.) But, more importantly, John remembered and described well the discourse I had with the disciples after that last meal together. That’s when I affirmed that I, as Jesus, was (and is) One with the Father, and that I would send them the Holy Spirit, Who would help them remember My words and actions. With only John you would have no Last Supper, no Holy Communion or Eucharist. Without John you would have no promise of Me, the Holy Spirit.

As you studied John those many years past you did not even consider that you would be having a regular, friendly, learning relationship with that very Spirit, in this latter portion of your born-again life. In effect you were born yet again, to receive living water… or living wine… that is in excess amounts and will never run dry. Your Wellsprings concept was appropriately named, as another part of this relationship.