I think I can say, I love a personal breathing after Jesus, and the consciousness of His nearness to us. If we did but ponder it duly, what a precious mystery it would be in our esteem that, before we go to His place to be with Him, He comes to our place to be with us. The Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Truth, has come, and now dwells in us, manifesting the Father and the Son, and soon we shall go to the Lord to dwell with Him and see Him as He is. And this is more than visiting; it is dwelling and abiding; He with us now, we with Him ere long—and both of these dwellings and abidings are declared to be forever.
These manifestations of the Father and the Son through the Spirit are but poorly enjoyed by us, if we may speak for others. We want a closer dealing of the soul with Christ—a more real, vivid, personal communion. The enjoyment of these manifestations the Lord connects with a keeping of His word (John 14:21-2321He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. 22Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? 23Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. (John 14:21‑23)). And I think I have seen that in some souls. For there is a class of true, simple, fervent spirits, who greatly outrun the most of us. It is not that they are much in the study of the Bible. No, it is not that. But they have His words stowed up in the memory of their hearts, and they draw them thence for varied, living, affectionate use through the day. They have Christ in a way far beyond what the constant mere study of the Bible would give them. Indeed such study, if alone, is not, in the divine sense, a keeping of His words, and has no manifestation of Him accompanying it. And again: this having of the words of Christ is something beyond the obeying of precepts. These words or sayings (see John 14:23, 2423Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. 24He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me. (John 14:23‑24)) may be, and more properly are, revelations of Himself, than enunciations of His will, more telling us what He is, than what we ought to be.
A proof that the disciples were wanting in this comes out in that same chapter (John 14). The Lord had been telling them of His going away. Had they learned Him as they should, they would have kept this saying of His, and they would have rejoiced (v. 28). Even among ourselves, we may say, this keeping of sayings or words is the proof of love. It tells another that He is in the memory of our hearts.