In my last blog post, I commented on John 15:7. Check out Loving Like Jesus Did. Moving on from there in John 15: 9-11 we read, “The Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”
Chuck Swindoll in his commentary on John, says that according to Jesus, we can sum up what it means to abide, to remain in one word: obedience. His connection to the Father is the pattern for our connection to Him. He obeys and loves the Father; we obey and love Christ. And the result of our obedience is joy. This Greek word describes someone in a state of gladness, such as harvest time (4:36) or a wedding feast (3:29). It’s an emotive word intended to be the opposite of fear.
In the previous chapter of John, just before this conversation about remaining, Jesus announced that He would be leaving. He comforted His disciples' fears about his departure by telling them how He would send them the Holy Spirit, and they would sense His continuing presence with them (John 14:16-31).
Then He gave us a remedy for fear, and a means to experience His ongoing presence despite his physical absence: obedience. When we obey, confidence displaces fear.
It was John who wrote in 1 John that “perfect love casts out fear.”
1 John 4:17-18, MSG, “God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love.”
We have no reason to fear eternity or life on this earth, for that matter, because God loves us perfectly, and He won't allow anything in our lives to harm us--to grow us maybe, but not to harm us.
When we remain in Him, we can experience joy. According to Swindoll, joy is a deeply felt commitment that transcends difficult circumstances and derives maximum enjoyment from every good experience. It comes from a place of complete security and confidence—even in the midst of trial. He goes on to state, “Joy is the flag that flies over the castle of our hearts, announcing that the King is in residence.” Anybody what to shout, “Amen!”
Then Jesus brings it on home in John 15: John 15:12, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” Drop the microphone. (If I was actually holding one:)
Remember these are the words of Jesus as He is heading for His betrayal, a betrayal He knows about! These are the last things He gets to say to his disciples, so we must assume they are the most important.
Henry Blackaby writes, “We might assume that during Jesus' prayer before His crucifixion, he would have prayed that His disciples would have courage, or would remain faithful, or would remember what they had been taught. Yet He asked that His followers would remain united in their love for one another. Jesus understood that it is spiritually impossible to love God but not love others.
“A test for your love for God is to examine your love for others. Our tendency is to say, ‘Heavenly Father, the problem is not between You and me. I love you with all my heart. I just don't love my brother.’ And God says, ‘That is an impossibility. You cannot love Me without loving the ones for whom My Son died.’ (John 13:34-35) “Your life will not convince those around you of the reality of Jesus if you cannot live in unity with your fellow Christians,” (Henry Blackaby, Experiencing God.)
We can either say “Amen” or “Ouch!” to these powerful words.
Folks, that is a message for us in the church today—to live in love, in unity. It doesn’t have to be uniformity. We may not all think alike, but we can agree on the truth that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and people need to know that.
After Christ commands us to love each other like He loved us he explains how He loved us. John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” He’s been sending this message for quite a while and on this night, He brings it home. I’m going to die…for you.
Then He lets them know that we’re His friends. That He chose us and appointed us to bear fruit that would last.
And again, “This is my command: Love each other.”
My prayer is that this passage will help you to love and feel loved on this Valentine's Day.
Lovin’ Jesus and You,
Linda Newton
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