“I will not leave you as orphans;
I will come to you.”
John 14:18
Do you ever feel abandoned and alone? That’s surely how the disciples felt as they listened to Jesus tell them of his soon-coming departure. For three years they had followed Him. In fact, they’d left everything to go with Him. All they had to live on and depend on had been left behind just to be with Jesus. Now, here He is telling them that very soon He will be gone. So now what?
Now comes His assurance, “I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you.” To be left as an orphan in that culture meant you were left destitute and without help. Orphans didn’t do well back then. There were no orphanages. Few were willing to take them in. Most lived on the streets and did what they could to scrape by. If they survived at all, it was a very meager existence. Unless someone kind and strong stepped in to help, orphans had no hope.
But hope is exactly what Christ is promising us here. Yes He is leaving! But no, he is will never abandon us. For in His place He and the Father have sent the Holy Spirit to be with us forever (John 14:16). And since the Holy Spirit is God, just like Jesus is God and just like the Father is God, His coming means that God Himself remains with us whether Christ is physically present or absent. Indeed, by means of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, we have the assurance of Christ’s presence with us at all times and in every place. This is a foundation for deep assurance and great confidence in living the Christian life.
This morning, as we delve into this precious promise of Jesus, it is my prayer that you will be encouraged to have a deep assurance that you will never be abandoned by Him! The Psalmist declared, “Even when my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will take me in!” (Psa 27:10). The promise of Christ is more sure to us than even our closest family relationships.
May you know the assurance of God’s Steadfast Love in Christ!
Pastor S. Scott Lee