This is a bit of a strange word to write about. But it is a word that describes our relationship with the Lord Jesus better than most others. You see, when we received Christ, the Holy Spirit took up residence in our spirit. 1 Corinthians 6:17 KJV “But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.” I don’t know how many times I had read this (for years I read the Bible through each year and on top of that taught the Corinthian Letters in our Bible Institute a number of times) yet this verse went unnoticed by me until, by the grace of the Lord, He revealed it to me.
One morning a number of years ago, I was writing in my journal. It is a prayer journal and I write as I am led. Then I record what I believe He has said to me. So on this special morning, He said, “Iris, you are using the wrong pronouns.” A bit confused I sat waiting. Then he said, it is no longer “I,” “Me,” “You,” etc. It is now “we, and “us,” For I am “with” always.
As this was spoken to me, I immediately understood much more than what was spoken, because to be “with” someone has an emotional substance to it. To be “with” another is to share and to listen and to engage in all aspects of presence. Some people do this easily. However, many are so independent in their persons, that the “with” never enters into relationships well. “With” is the glue of a good marriage, for to be “with” is to engage in depth and to share easily. To be “with” is to lean and be leaned upon. It is to acknowledge another in many and varied ways. A lasting friendship is a “with.” The ability to “pick up where we left off,” kind of relationship.
To learn to use the “we” and “us” is a continual journey for me, as I was raised knowing the God of all was above and holy and unlike me. However, when Jesus entered the picture, and when He enters our personal perception upon invitation, we are immediately a “with.” That means He does everything “with” me, thinks with my mind and motivates with my interior. “…Christ in you, the hope of glory” Colossians 1:27 KJV
We have for too many years prized the Father as far away, now because in the Lord and with the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit, it is always a “with.” Read again John 17:20-26. Do you now see the oneness of the ‘with?” We are one in Him and one together “with.” He so values the “with,” individually and collectively.
I invite you to share in this journey with me. Lord, may we delight in your presence with and in. Teach us your thoughts and increase our awareness of your presence in us, with!
Mannaword 