“When we love others, we remain in His love.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – July 30, 2024
And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:2
I’ve been experiencing a new intimacy with Jesus. It’s as if He’s poured His love into me during this time of battling cancer. And, as a result, it’s bubbling out to others which has given me such joy! Never has my “love cup” been this full! And never have I experienced so much joy.
This season has been so wonderful that I have been petitioning the Lord: “Please help me to stay in your love and joy. Please keep me close to you.”
In response to my request, the Lord took me to John 15:9-13.
“I have loved you even as my Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you may be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow. This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (NLT)
This powerful passage gave me the answer for how to remain in His love and how to continue to experience great joy. First, notice that in this passage, Jesus says it’s possible to remain in His love, because he commands us to remain in it. “Now remain [abide] in my love,” he says in vs. 9.
Then, the Lord tells us how to remain—or abide—in His love: it’s to obey Him. “When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.” (v. 10)
Then, Jesus tells us what the result will be when we remain in His love by obeying his commandments: “I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!” (v. 11) (NLT). Note that this isn’t just a little joy, but full joy!
But the question is this: Is Jesus referring to a specific command to follow if we want to remain in—or abide—in Him and experience His love and full joy? Yes. In verse 12, He says, “This is my commandment: “Love each other in the same way I have loved you.” This is the key to experiencing overflowing joy!
Here’s how this passage breaks down:
If we want to remain in—and experience—Jesus’ love, if we want to know His joy, we must love one another the way He has loved us. We must choose to be done with ungodly behaviors like gossip, backbiting, manipulation, slander, unforgiveness, lying to one another, self-promotion, sexual misdeeds, materialism, and mocking, which are all rooted in selfishness. We must choose to do love.
“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13)
Prayer
Lord, how I praise you that following your way leads to joy and fills us up with the love that can only come from you. Help me to remain in your love by loving others. Keep me close to you. Please help me to be sensitive to your Holy Spirit and convict me when I am not loving others or even sinning against them. Amen.
Application
Ask Jesus how you can love others today.
Related Reading
John 10:15; 1 John 4:7-11; Romans 5:6-8
Worship Resource
NYC Sessions – Tiffany Hudson: Obey
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