John 15:9-11
March 8, 2024
John 15:9-11
9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
Jesus shares an astonishing fact with us. As the Father has loved the Son, so Jesus loves us. Stop and consider how much love the Father must have for his perfect Son, who from all eternity has lived to do the Father’s will. It is almost too good to be true. Jesus tells us that he loves us with the same love and to the same degree that the Father has loved him. Whenever our spirits are downcast, we should fix our thoughts on the Father’s love for Jesus and understand that the love the Father showers upon the Son is meant to flow to us. What could be more encouraging? This truth is meant to make our joy complete.
Our task is to abide in this love, to make our home in it. We must continually remind ourselves of this love and take care not to deprive ourselves of it. That is why Jesus instructs us to keep his commandments. To be clear, Jesus is not suggesting that we must obey his words in order for Jesus to love us. No, our obedience is not the cause of Jesus’ love, but rather its fruit. The more we delight in Jesus’ love for us, the more that love will evidence itself in our actions. The more we experience his love for us, the more we will want to keep his word and love one another as he has loved us.
How would you be different if you understood more fully the depth of Jesus’s love for you?