On Oneness

“. . . that they may be one just as We are one . . .” (John 17:22).

I never thought much on the idea of oneness with God until a year or two ago.  Since then, I’ve noticed it cropping up in a lot of places--in my devotionals, my Bible readings, our pastor’s sermons, casual conversation, even the essays I help students revise.  A few repetitions is a neat coincidence.  Constant reiteration is more likely a sign that God really wants me to get and apply this concept.

So what does it mean to “be one”?  

With other humans, complete oneness is impossible; we are in separate bodies, thinking separate thoughts from separate points of view, often working in separate places.  Thus, human oneness is nonliteral, more about emotional intimacy, sharing time and lives as with a married couple or family or close friends, until the individuals know each other well enough that they’re on the same “wavelength” or at least know how to work smoothly together.

However, in context with our omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent God, whose Holy Spirit indwells us, this ideal state of “oneness” is far more literal.  Reaching that point is a matter of seeking God wholeheartedly during every waking moment, trusting God’s promises and character, completely dying to Self, surrendering our own desires and goals and thoughts so that we may see people and circumstances with God’s perspective and then act on His prompting rather than on our human sympathy or assumptions.  To understand oneness, we may consider ourselves a branch grafted onto the vine of Jesus (John 15:5), and as such, should aim to become so thoroughly and naturally connected that we don’t know where our Self starts and Jesus begins.  

photo from Chaumette Winery, on Flickr

Unfortunately, no one’s perfect this side of Heaven where the curse of sin remains.  It takes time for any graft to take secure hold, and our willfulness, circumstances, and other factors may prevent us from truly becoming one with God.  Even when close to oneness, we widen cracks at the grafting point any time we choose to act on our own whims and assert our own will, moving contrary to the Vine.  To remain one, we must grow and move at God’s pace.  Sometimes this requires the discipline of doing nothing—remaining still, waiting, listening, or learning—before acting so that we may move in God’s way and God’s timing.  At other times, it requires the discipline of instant obedience when we feel led to do something uncomfortable before the opportunity passes. Regular obedience makes us more sensitive to His direction, but our free will remains, and we don’t always make good use of it.  

How we react to a damaged relationship with the Vine is vital to our health as a branch, as well as to the amount and quality of our fruit.  The revelation of a break in our connection to the Vine is not the time to despair of oneness and go do our own thing, but a time to seek healing.  Whether we notice the separation hidden in our center or whether it forms a jarringly obvious crack in our surface life, we need to repair the connection at once; we must be repentant and then request—and allow—our Master Gardener to mend us.  

Because of my fallibility, attaining and maintaining oneness with God takes work--constant vigilance, readiness, and willingness.  It takes actively setting aside my plans, my preferences, my perspective each morning—and any other time during the day when I try to assert my own will.  It takes being immersed in God’s Word, in prayer, and in fellowship with the Body of Christ even when—or especially when—I’m not “in the mood.”  I’m not there yet, and I still catch myself seeking God for self-improvement or for the peace that comes from spiritual balance rather than for God Himself.  But our awe-inspiring, loving, fearsome, mysterious God deserves my whole heart, not a corner of it.  To be truly one with Him, I must try, try again, be it seven times or seven times seventy (thousand) times.  I want to produce good fruit, and when my earthly life ends--although I am not always willing to do and be what it takes to receive God’s praise—I hope to improve so that I may hear Him say “Well done, good and faithful servant.”  

My Gardener and I have our work cut out for us.  

....How’s your connection to the Vine?