We cannot make God love us more (nor less). But we can affect our own conscious enjoyment of that love. Jude gives his readers helpful instruction on how to do just that:
But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. (v.20,21)
Build yourselves up in your most holy faith - take whatever steps you can to enlarge your grasp of who God is and all that he has done for you in his Son. This is the faith that was “once for all entrusted to the saints” (v.3). A treasure beyond words that has its origins in the heart of God. The story of redeeming love, of the beloved Son of God riding forth to rescue the lost, those who chose the broad road that leads to destruction.
Fill your hearts and minds, Jude is saying, with the details as well as the big picture. Soak yourselves in it. Be drenched in steams of living water. Feast upon your Saviour. Whatever opportunities you have, take them with both hands. And if can create more then do.
And do this personally and together. Jude doesn’t suggest it’s an either/or; it’s so clearly a both/and. You and I and we, building ourselves up in this faith, enlarging our hearts and minds; tasting, seeing and embracing this most holy faith.
All the while “praying in the Holy Spirit”. Ok…but what does that mean, what does it involve? Far from being an abstract experience that is big on mystery and mystique, this is a call to pray in conscious awareness of the work of God’s Spirit. And so it means praying
- in the secure knowledge that we are the children of God, adopted by grace (he is the Spirit of adoption)
- in the wonder of the Father’s love (which is shed abroad in our hearts by the Spirit).
- with a reliance upon the finished work of Jesus and delighting in such a Saviour (he is the Spirit of Jesus).
- with an honesty about our sin and a hunger for righteousness to mark all our days (he is the Holy Spirit)
Building ourselves up in the faith and praying out of it is key to a continued enjoyment of the love of God for us. Jude is making that connection clear. We keep ourselves right there as we make these choices.
And all this while we “wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring [us] to eternal life.” The road may be long or short but its end is certain: eternal life. Unending and unbroken fellowship with God as our intimate knowledge of him grows deeper each moment of the timeless sea of eternity.
Our arrival there is entirely due to “the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ”. It isn’t guaranteed by how much we enjoy his love now. The matter is out of our hands and in his nail-pierced ones. But Jude is anxious that his readers should know as much as is possible in this life of the captivating love of God. A love that transforms and sweetens every aspect of our lives and our characters. A love that becomes visible to others as we bathe our own souls in its light.
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I have not seen Thy face, O Lord,
Yet with my heart I love Thee;
For Thou hast plucked each tender cord
With pleasing touch of mercy.
O Saviour, Lord, my King and Friend,
I worship Thee with gladness;
And by Thy grace I will defend
The Name that brought me kindness.
I have not known Thee here on earth,
Yet with my soul I trust Thee;
For Thou hast stirred my thought to birth
Of God and heaven and glory.
O precious Saviour, hear my praise
With songs of joy and wonder;
For Thou hast taught my lips to raise
A theme of words so tender.
Now I have seen Thy glorious face,
With eyes of faith unveiling
The splendour of the theme of grace,
All to my mind revealing.
Such bliss and happiness is mine
To know the God of glory;
For who could call the Lord divine
But for Thy grace and mercy?
(William Vernon Higham, 1926-2016)
