As the Father has loved me, I have also loved you.
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. John 15:9–10.
This is an interesting progression of love. God the Father loves Jesus, Jesus loves us,
we remain in his love by keeping his commandments. What does Jesus command his
followers? To love.
This is what I command you: Love one another. John
15:17
Ultimately Love flows through these relationships: God the Father to
Jesus, Jesus to God the Father, Jesus to us, us to Jesus, us to one another. Love is the unmistakable mark of God’s work
in a person’s life. That is why I am
making such a big deal about it. We will
not see revival in our churches without God’s love in our hearts!
So we first recognize that love comes from our Heavenly
Father. He loves his son who in turn
loves us. Jesus shows his love for us
ultimately in the sacrifice that he makes on our behalf. This sacrifice when we put our hope and trust
in it allows us to enter into a saving and sanctifying relationship with
God. That is what it means when Jesus says
“remain in my love.” This process of
sanctification is the result of abiding in love (the inward motivation) and
keeping God’s commandments (the external evidence of love’s work). This abiding and obeying is how we love
God. But it does not stop there. This love then to be fulfilled must pour out
in Jesus’ command to “love one another.”
This becomes the fulfillment of God’s love in your life and in the lives
of the people that you love. Love
accomplishes it’s appointed purpose when we live in this way. It is a hard road I must admit. More on that next time.
God Bless You
~BJ Olson
No comments:
Post a Comment