What a great story of transformation…Mark 3:17 says Jesus Himself nicknamed James and John the “sons of thunder”. I don’t think they got this name without good reason yet Jesus called them anyway. Luke 9:54 says they wanted to “call down fire from heaven” on the people that rejected Jesus. They also “jockied” for a position in Mark 10:35-37 wanting to “sit on either side of Jesus on heaven’s throne. James eventually was martyred but John became known as the apostle of love. He was the one who laid his head against Jesus’ chest and listened to his heartbeat in John 13:20. He wrote the book of John, 1, 2, and 3 John and the book of Revelation.
From Son of Thunder to the beloved who because of intimate love with Christ was given so much revelation, knowledge, and understanding of the Holy. That is what intimacy does, it opens the door of understanding, it gives insight to the things of God’s heart and reveals to us how wrong we have been about Him and His Word because we tried to live it without really loving Him enough to just sit and listen. John was a “doer” who became a “lover” and left a legacy for us to follow. His entire perspective was radically changed when He fell in love with Jesus and ours will too. Serving becomes secondary to “being” and serving becomes more effective because of “being”. I was faced with a question in these last months as my perspective has slowly changed over the last few years in learning what it means to “rest against Him” as John displayed. “Is this enough for you”? Tearing down the “doing”, “serving” mentality as being 1st, and replacing it with an attitude of devotion and rest is not easy because we are so well trained to “do”. I think about what legacy do I want to leave on the earth…that I accomplished “great things for Yahweh”? Or simply that I was a person of devotion, one who really “knew” Him. Yes, the latter is much more appealing now because it is the “one thing” that He desires….devotion. Everything else is secondary and flows from there and if devotion is all I ever accomplish, then it is enough. #MyGodisYahweh
Renee Hymel
Lover of God’s Word | Intercessor | Blogger #myGodisYahweh
Fav Scripture: Eph 6:10-11
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the enemy’s schemes”.