THE BURNING BUSH Father, I Will "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me." — John 17:24 (KJV) Listen to how the Son speaks to the Father everywhere else, and you will feel the weight of this one word. In the garden He prays, not my will, but thine, be done. Under the shadow of the cross He says, if it be possible, let this cup pass, and then, nevertheless. His whole life of prayer is one long surrender, a bending of His will to the Father's at every turn. He asks, He submits, He yields. And then, once, in the last prayer before He dies, He does not ask. He says, Father, I will. It is the only time in all of Scripture that the Son says I will to the Father, and we should tremble to see what He sets that will upon. Not His own rescue. Not the sparing of His body from the nails. Not a throne, or vindication, or relief. The one thing the ever yielding Son finally demands, the single desire He states as a will and not a request, is us. Father, I will that they whom thou hast given me be with me where I am. The whole force of a will that had surrendered everything comes down at last on one longing, that we would be with Him. We spend our lives wondering whether God truly wants us, whether we are tolerated, permitted, barely allowed in at the edges. Here is the answer, in the strongest word the Son ever spoke to His Father. He does not merely permit us to come; He wills it, and will not have heaven without us. The desire He would not spend on His own escape He spent entirely on you, that where He is, you may be also. You are not tolerated by a reluctant God. You are the one thing the dying Son insisted on. He willed to have you with Him, and He was not refused. Prayer Father, everywhere else Your Son bent His will to Yours, and once, only once, He said I will. He did not spend it on His own rescue. He spent it on me. I am not tolerated by a reluctant God. I am the one thing the dying Son insisted upon. Please let me live as a man who knows that. Amen. THE BURNING BUSH