Soon you won’t be able to see me; soon after that, you will see me.” Some of Jesus’ disciples said to each other, “What does he mean: ‘Soon you won’t see me, and soon after that you will see me’ and ‘Because I’m going to the Father’? What does he mean by ‘soon’? We don’t understand what he’s talking about.” Jesus knew they wanted to ask him, so he said, “Are you trying to find out from each other what I meant when I said, ‘Soon you won’t see me, and soon after that you will see me’? I assure you that you will cry and lament, and the world will be happy. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman gives birth, she has pain because her time has come. But when the child is born, she no longer remembers her distress because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. In the same way, you have sorrow now; but I will see you again, and you will be overjoyed. No one takes away your joy. In that day, you won’t ask me anything. I assure you that the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Up to now, you have asked nothing in my name. Ask and you will receive so that your joy will be complete. (John 16:16-24, CEB)
Complete joy seems like an impossibility to me.
I think about the example here that Jesus gives here about childbirth. How does he understand this? He is a man and has not given birth, yet he says that the woman is in pain, until the child is born and then the memory of the pain is remembered no more when the child is born. Seriously. I guess I need to take his word for it, as I do not understand or comprehend that. Yet maybe God does understand God’s creation…
We need to know that God wants us to be complete in our joy and have everything we need. We will get what we need. God will provide it so our joy will be complete.
Loving People. Loving God.
aSacredRebel 