Abiding Love
I suffered the tough loss of a friend last week. In my own grieving, I realized anew that you always wish you had more time with loved ones who have gone on to be with the Lord. In fact, one of the most hurtful things about this pandemic, is that so many have not had the opportunity to share the final hours with loved ones who have passed. They miss out on the chance to say the things to them that really matter. In this week's lesson (John 15:4-17), Jesus takes advantage of His final hours with His disciples to tell them the depth of His love for them and the importance of love in keeping them all connected to Him and one another. May God bless you and make you fruitful as you study this lesson.
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. (John 15:4-8) This relationship that we have with Jesus is mutual. When we abide in Him as His disciples, He also abides in us. Through our connectedness to Jesus, we develop the desire to do what Jesus desires, to bear much fruit. In that pursuit, God honors our desires in His answers to our prayers. I want to do my Father's will, and when I do, He will do what needs to be done for me to succeed and glorify Him.
“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. These things I command you, that you love one another. (John 15:11-17) Jesus commands His disciples to love one another just like He has loved us. How has He loved us? He was nailed to a cross and He laid down His life for us. He showed us what loving one another truly means. He showed us that we have to be willing to sacrifice for one another, willing to serve one another and willing to succeed with one another in bearing fruit for God's kingdom. I'm so glad that I have a friend like Jesus. I want to be a friend like Him to others.
In the final hours before His crucifixion, Jesus spent time with His disciples. When we know that we don't have much time left with a loved one, we tend to focus on what really matters. Jesus focused His final words on His love for His disciples and His admonition that we love one another. Abiding in Jesus means loving Him and through that love, staying connected to Him. In Him, we have the power to accomplish great things. Apart from Him we can do nothing, and worse, we can't be fruitful for God's kingdom. So when it comes to Jesus, I'm all in...abiding in love!
