8

8

“Where I am, there also shall be my servant”. May He become

attractive to us; may we become exercised, every one of us, to

know what is in the Lord’s mind. We are quite sure of what is

in our minds; some of us can be very definite as to what is in

our minds, maybe not so sure of what is in the Lord’s mind.

May the Lord encourage us.

In chapter 21 John is following. The Lord says to Peter,

“Follow me”. “And having said this, he says to him, Follow me.

Peter, turning round, sees the disciple whom Jesus loved

following, who also leaned at supper on his breast, and said.

Lord, who is it that delivers thee up?” How intimate John was;

a characteristic follower. I suppose there are such; I believe

there are such amongst us, characteristically followers, as

John was. “Peter, seeing him, says to Jesus, Lord, and what of

this man?” There was John as a follower, a model, an example

to Peter. It was an advantage to Peter to have one who was a

characteristic follower; it was an advantage to the Lord to be

able to point out one who was a characteristic follower.

May the Lord help us in this. The Lord said also, “And if

anyone serve me, him shall the Father honour”. How

wonderful that is! Think of the Father’s honour bestowed on

the Lord Jesus! How worthy He is of honour and glory, but this

verse in John 17 could be interpreted as the Lord’s request

that the Father might honour His own by being “with me”,

“where I am”. This is, I suppose, future in its fulness; it is the

Lord requesting that the Father honour persons who have

served and who have followed. Think of the honour; listen to

it—“I desire that where I am they also may be with me, that

they may behold my glory which thou hast given me, for thou

lovedst me before the foundation of the world”. What an

honour to be initiated into the Father’s thoughts of the Lord

Jesus! I suppose it is future in its fulness, but we can get some

impressions now of the Father honouring persons who serve

the Lord Jesus—“with me, that they may behold my glory

which thou hast given me, for thou lovedst me before the