Today’s Reading: John 15:9 – 16:4; Psalm 41
“I have loved you even as the 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.” – John 15:9-10
This week we have talked about Jesus’ instructions for us to trust him, to believe in him, and to obey him. Yesterday we studied the analogy that God is the gardener, Jesus is the true vine, and we are his branches. In these verses, Jesus helps us see how our connection with him becomes the source of our obedience to what he is asking us to do.
WHEN WE STAY CONNECTED TO THE VINE, WE FIND THE SOURCE OF LOVE NEEDED TO CHOOSE OBEDIENCE.
“I have told you these things so that you will 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. You are my friends if you do what I command.” – John 15:11-14
The greatest commandment we have received from the Lord is to love God by loving others. Not only did Jesus give us an example of what love looks like by the way he lived and also by the way he died, he provides a connection with him that resources us with all the love we need to walk out this command to love each other. Not only do we have the love of Jesus running through our veins, the Lord also fills us with joy!
WHEN WE REMAIN IN HIS LOVE, WE EXPERIENCE AN ABUNDANCE OF JOY, AS WELL AS A FRIENDSHIP WITH JESUS.
“I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. This is my command: Love each other.” – John 15:15-17
We have all been chosen for a relationship with Jesus. God has a plan for each of us to experience this connection with the vine that changes us forever. Yes, our obedience is about submission to the authority and wisdom of God, but it is also about our love for the One who calls us his friend. When we remain in His love, we are able to produce an authentic love for others. And from this love, fruit is born.
EVEN THOUGH THE NATURAL OUTFLOW OF OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS IS AUTHENTIC LOVE AND OVERFLOWING JOY, THE WORLD WILL HATE US JUST AS THEY HATED JESUS.
“If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. Do you remember what I told you? “A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you. They will do all this to you because of me, for they have rejected the one who sent me.” – John 15:18-21
Have you experienced this yet? Have you found yourself despised or criticized for your faith? It can be discouraging when the love we are showing the world is rejected, but Jesus said to expect this. If they reject God and despise the name of Jesus, they are also capable of hating us for what we believe and for how we live.
“If I hadn’t done such miraculous signs among them that no one else could do, they would not be guilty. But as it is, they have seen everything I did, yet they still hate me and my Father. This fulfills what is written in their Scriptures: ‘They hated me without cause.’” – John 15:24-25
If they can hate Jesus for no good reason, we can expect that the world will also hate us without cause. It will not feel fair, because it is not fair. It is helpful for us to remember that God does not promise us earthly justice. Jesus warned us that the world will neither understand our faith nor tolerate our righteous living. Many of his followers walked away from Jesus because they did not want to experience this persecution, and we have that same choice to make. Jesus did not warn us about this rejection in order to cast fear into our hearts, but rather to strengthen our faith for what is ahead.
“I have told you these things so that you won’t abandon your faith. For you will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God. This is because they have never known the Father or me. Yes, I’m telling you these things now, so that when they happen, you will remember my warning.” – John 16:1-4a
IF WE WANT TO REMAIN STRONG AGAINST THE HATE WE RECEIVE FROM THIS WORLD, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE REMAIN CONNECTED TO THE VINE.
Our relationship with Jesus is what strengthens us when times get tough. It provides us with the love we need to respond in love even when we are receiving hate; it provides us with the joy we need when this life brings us sorrow and pain. When we remain in His love, we are never alone because Jesus gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit.
“But I will send you the Advocate—the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me.” – John 15:26
Lord, thank you so much for the encouragement we receive when we spend time in your word. Thank you for preparing us for our toughest moments through your words of exhortation as well as the gift of the Holy Spirit. Thank you for this time in your presence, healing us from what we have experienced and preparing us for what is ahead. We are grateful this morning for the love you provide through this connection so that we can show love to those who hate us, and for the joy that fills our hearts when there is no earthly reason to be happy. May our relationship with you be evident to those around us, and may you be glorified through our faith today. Amen.