No Greater Love
John 15:9-13 (NLT)
“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. 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.”
Reflection
This passage is part of a conversation Jesus is having with His disciples on the eve of His crucifixion. Sharing one last meal with His close friends, Jesus gives them comfort and encouragement to accept His impending death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven. If it were impossible to love each other the way Jesus loves us, He would not have instructed us to do so. However, this kind of love is only possible through obedience to His commands. Our relationship with God is fractured to the extent that we disobey what we know He is telling us. The more we obey, the more joyful we are. Joy is how we measure the distance between us and God. How do I know when I’m not remaining in the love of Christ? The same way I know when my guitar is out of tune-I pluck a string and get a sour note.
This is the tension every believer has experienced; we love graciously for a season, then get out of tune with God and find that our joy is waning and our neighbor becomes an irritant. But keep pressing in and you will find your rhythm with God through Christ Jesus. When you do, you will guard against anything disrupting the flow of God’s peace. It is a joy worth finding and a love worth dying for.
Action Step
Ask God to search your heart and reveal anything coming between you and His love. If He reveals something, make the commitment to obey Him now.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for teaching me how to experience total joy. Use me as a conduit of love and joy to everyone around me. Amen!
“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. 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.”
Reflection
This passage is part of a conversation Jesus is having with His disciples on the eve of His crucifixion. Sharing one last meal with His close friends, Jesus gives them comfort and encouragement to accept His impending death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven. If it were impossible to love each other the way Jesus loves us, He would not have instructed us to do so. However, this kind of love is only possible through obedience to His commands. Our relationship with God is fractured to the extent that we disobey what we know He is telling us. The more we obey, the more joyful we are. Joy is how we measure the distance between us and God. How do I know when I’m not remaining in the love of Christ? The same way I know when my guitar is out of tune-I pluck a string and get a sour note.
This is the tension every believer has experienced; we love graciously for a season, then get out of tune with God and find that our joy is waning and our neighbor becomes an irritant. But keep pressing in and you will find your rhythm with God through Christ Jesus. When you do, you will guard against anything disrupting the flow of God’s peace. It is a joy worth finding and a love worth dying for.
Action Step
Ask God to search your heart and reveal anything coming between you and His love. If He reveals something, make the commitment to obey Him now.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for teaching me how to experience total joy. Use me as a conduit of love and joy to everyone around me. Amen!
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