In his own words (part 9)
How on earth were Jesus’ disciples going to love each other with the same love Jesus had for them, John 15:12?
He was operating on a level of love way beyond their capacity. Like he said in verse 13: “Greater love has no one than this, than laying down his life for his friends.” And Jesus lived that way, gearing his life to helping, healing, teaching, and then death on a cross too.
But how can we love like that? It’s a tall order for us lowly, busy creatures stuck in a world of physical suffering, financial worries, and the focus of the culture being so much on self. And with so much time taken up in just surviving, who’s got the energy to love as Jesus loved?
Fortunately, Jesus left a couple of clues for us to tap in to. The first in John 15:4, when he told his disciples, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you.” Jesus used the analogy of him being a vine and his disciples the branches. Stay attached to him, and like a vine feeding nutrients to its branches, he’d feed his love through to them. No matter what circumstances they were in, then, he could enable them to love as he loved, which is an amazing promise, because things happen to us in this world that make loving as he loved extremely difficult.
The second clue is in verse 7: “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.”
In the first part of that verse Jesus explains how we stay attached to him, which is taking what he said and taught seriously. Because by doing that it automatically opens up the second part of the verse, which is contact with Jesus himself.
Which is great to know, because what we’re after is the ability to love as he loved, believing it’s obviously the right way to live, but situations and circumstances keep arising that make it so difficult to do. So Jesus had better help us out or we’re sunk. And fortunately, he promises to answer, because that’s what the Father sent him to us for, to do in us what we cannot do.
And for a wonderful reason too, to not only experience Jesus’ love in us but his joy as well (verse 11)…(continues Monday)
Buck To Basics 