Kept by Him

John 17:11 Holy Father, keep them.

John 17:15 I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.

Our being kept is great on the heart of our Intercessor – keep them – and keeping is no small matter, for it is easier to obtain some things than it is to keep them. I know a fellow that bought a car and in six months lost it. You might build a new house, but it is another thing to maintain it. It is easier to bring children into the world than to keep them. Genghis, Alexander, and Rome obtained vast kingdoms, but could not keep them.

The Holy Father keeps His own. It is a great comfort to us. It is a great glory to God, for as the old Puritan said, "It is more wonderful to keep a candle burning in a bucket of water than on a lamp stand." We could have been taken out of the world, but the Lord does not ask for that. "Victory is more glorious than exemption," says another. And it must be quite a frustration to the devil to see his former servants now walking the world in white, to see Daniels in Babylon, to see saints in Caesar's household. No, none were lost, but the son of perdition, that the scripture would be fulfilled – God is not frustrated. The elect must persevere, and they will.

- Bob Jennings