“LITTLE CHILDREN, YOU are of God, and have overcome them; for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). This verse technically does not belong to the “in Him” passages, but actually it does, for in mentioning “he who is in you,” it presupposes you are in Him—for you cannot have Him in you unless you are in Him. That point needs to be reemphasized as we draw near to the close of our study. He cannot abide in us unless we first abide in Him. To abide in Him means self-surrender—pulling up the roots from a self-centered life and putting them into Christ, making you a Christ-centered person. You cannot ask Christ to walk into an unsur-rendered ego. He comes in to take over and not to be alongside of. He is Lord.
“For he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” Note that it says “in you,” and not “for you.” The difference is important. A woman said: “God must have been with me in coming to this ashram. I found exactly forty dollars in my husband’s pocket, and since it was the exact amount I needed to come I took it. If it hadn’t been the exact amount I wouldn’t have taken it.” There is no “if” in this: “ For he who is in you.” The other part is certain too: “is greater than he who is in the world.” All reality is behind you if you are in Him, and nothing is behind you if you are in the world. “The world passes away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:17). Outside the will of God everything perishes. Inside the will of God everything is intact. If you would preserve your money or influence, put it into the will of God. Take it out of that will and it perishes like a fish taken out of the water. God’s will is the only safe place in the universe.
O Lord God, we are in Thee and Thou art in us and therefore we are not afraid of anything in this world. We abide—it passes away, perishes. There is nothing in the world except emptiness. There is nothing in Thee except everything. Amen.
AFFIRMATION FOR THE DAY: He who is in me is greater than anything I can meet in this outer world.
