Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are. During my time here, I protected them by the power of the name you gave me. I guarded them so that not one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as the Scriptures foretold.
(John 17:11-12)

Read: Matthew 37:32-56, Mark 15:21-41, Luke  23:26-49, John 19:17-37

Relate: I’m coming home. Those words must have triggered such an eager anticipation in Jesus. His heaven sent mission that had taken decades. That mission, whose hardest hours were directly in front of Him, was nearing its climax. Jesus home was in heaven, but He left it to make a dwelling among us, to make a home in us. How much did Jesus know about His heavenly home? We can only speculate. He was fully human and He was fully God. How the intermix of those traits would come into play on a question like this we can only guess.

Whatever the case, He was soon going home. He was returning to the Father and the eagerness for that moment must have leaked through as He prayed this final prayer before His disciples. Those given into His care by the Father, He is now returning to the Father’s care. Jesus knew that in the Father’s hands, protected by the Father’s great Name, they would be secure.

React: Because of the security I have knowing that I am guarded by the Father, I know that one day I too will return home. For me, it is even more of a dream, more of an exercise of my imagination, than it would have been for Jesus. Sin has clouded my vision. It has muddied the waters. I can read what has been written, I can hold on to what has promised, but what will it really be like? What will it be like to shed this mortal coil and be wrapped in eternity? What will it be like to know Jesus “as He is because I will be like Him”? What will it like to be completely, absolutely, forever free from the bondage and consequence of sin? What will it be like when I am finally able to see my Savior in all of His glory? Because He walked that road, because He completed His mission, one day I will truly know.

Respond: 

God, I long for the day I see You as you are. I long for that moment when I will see You as You are. I long for that moment when I leave this frail humanity behind. I long to be fully free from this world. Help me to live on point, on mission, following You until that glorious day when I can finally… Behold You.