Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love (2 Jn 3). Amen.
I don’t have to convince you. At least not for very long. The world that we live in is not very loving. That is fair, isn’t it? We don’t have to look very far for many examples.
On your computer. The news is often brutal because of bad blood all the way to bloodshed.
In your community. There can be tension or trouble.
During your commute. Not often do others wait for you to merge or wave to you to greet.
Love just may be in short supply (Mt 24:12).
And then we get skeptical or cynical. What is love? Seriously it may not be around us and sadly not in us.
And then there is Jesus’ love. Pure. Perfect. We don’t want that to go away. And it won’t. Remain in Jesus’ love to be friends with him and to bear fruit for him. We read from … [Note that the word “love”—either as a verb or a noun—appears 9 times and “remain” 3 times. (In the original “remain” shows up one more time.)]
John 15:9-17
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus, our living and loving Lord,
I know that I didn’t come up with it. But I have been using it so long that it has become my own definition of love. Love is “operating in the best interest of the individual loved.” While there is an emotion to love, there is an action in love. Love loves.
Wouldn’t that be great if that were the case? It is. That is the Savior’s love to us as we stay connected to him. That is the Savior’s love through us as we stay close to him.
Remain in Jesus’ Love
1. To be friends with him (9,13-16)
2. To bear fruit for him (10-12,14,16,17)
1. To be friends with him (9,13-16)
We all have a friend or two—virtual ones on social media and actual ones in real life. (There may be some overlap in those two areas.) A nice designation for Abraham is that he is called “God’s friend” (Ja 2:23). Wouldn’t that be a neat description of us? Friend of God. It is. Remain in Jesus’ love to be friends with him.
This is just a snippet from a longer discourse in the Upper Room. It happens on Maundy Thursday of Holy Week. It is Jesus’ last opportunity to instruct his disciples gathered there with him. He had a lot to say—to prepare them for the hours and days ahead. Some of it was weighty—one a betrayer and another a denier. Some of it was wonderful—many rooms in heaven with him and mighty help from the Counselor from him. And then Jesus used a comparison—a vine and its branches. He is the Vine. And we are the branches. Grafted to him—that is the relationship. Gifted by him—that is the reality.
And Jesus goes on to the topic of love. Really how that bond is all possible. “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you” (Jn 15:9). There is a striking sameness between the two loves.
“As the Father has loved me” (Jn 15:9). The Father gave his Son out of love for the world (Jn 3:16). And he loved him. It was at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry when God bellowed from on high: “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (Mt 3:17). God was expressing his approval of what Jesus was about to accomplish in the coming years for us. The Father was delighted that the Son was determined to deliver us from the devil. God loves the One who executes his mission.
“so have I loved you” (Jn 15:9). And Jesus loved the ones for whom the mission is executed. That intense love to save would be quite evident the very next day on the cross. Jesus even highlighted that with his general statement. “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (Jn 15:13). Jesus gave up his life so that we might live (Jn 3:16). The apostle John depicted it this way: “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him” (1 Jn 3:9). That Jesus died—it was for our benefit. But it was also in our place. We also know that he took that life up again three days later (Jn 10:17).
And we are Jesus’ friends. He makes that clear. “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you” (Jn 15:15). A slave serves because he must—receiving orders from his master and carrying them out without question, whether he understands or not. But friends. Those are individuals with whom one associates with and for whom one has affection. That is the way Jesus labels us—friends. He has taken us into his confidence, explaining his saving work. We are not in the dark, but in the know. That is the way it is with your friends. You tell them things because of the closeness and comradery.
But our friendships are with individuals with whom we have common interests—from sports to hobbies to experiences. How is that we come to be Jesus’ friends? We had nothing to contribute to it or cause it. Jesus emphasizes that: “You did not choose me, but I chose you” (Jn 15:16). Our Savior selected us. Certainly an interesting pick as far as those men. Mostly fisherman by trade who had their faults. Later that night in the Garden of Gethsemane, they would sleep rather than stay awake as Jesus prayed. They would abandon Jesus as he was arrested. Friends? And yet Jesus loved them.
As he loves us. Not because of our achievements (Ro 8:7), but because of his activity. “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 Jn 3:10). Jesus’ perfect life for us and his painful death for us make us one with God. His blood does away with our sins and gets rid of God’s anger. We can do what the psalmist suggested: “Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things” (Ps 98:1). And what is that? “His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him” (Ps 98:1). We are no longer enemies, but friends. And now Jesus directs: “Remain in my love” (Jn 15:9). And we do. Remain in Jesus’ love to be friends with him.
2. To bear fruit for him (10-12,14,16,17)
The Lord loved Abraham first (1 Jn 4:19). That is because of who God is: “God is love” (1 Jn 4:8). As a God’s friend, Abraham’s love followed. His love for the Lord was reflected in his life for the Lord—like changing locations or building altars. We do the same as Jesus’ friends. Remain in Jesus’ love to bear fruit for him.
Jesus details for his disciples what that looks like: “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love” (Jn 15:10). Jesus has the authority to tell us what is right and what is wrong. We are to treasure that, not tamper with it. His word is instructive for us and important to us—like you value a friendship and take pains not to lose it whether you talk to him frequently or text with her regularly. And it is not burdensome or bothersome to do what a friend asks. So it is with Jesus (1 Jn 5:3). Jesus compares his meticulous fulfilling of his Father’s will to our following of his Jesus’ orders. It will demonstrate the faith in our hearts.
And the outcome is twofold:
“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you” (Jn 15:11). Perhaps we forget that Jesus is glad when we give him our attention—just like your friends do.
“and that your joy may be complete” (Jn 15:11). And the pursuit to please him fills us up with pleasure too (1 Co 10:31).
Jesus lays it out: “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you” (Jn 15:12). The key word is “as.” Jesus loved his friends. That was evident earlier in the evening when he wrapped a towel around his waist and washed out the dirt between the toes of his disciples. That is the kind of unselfish love he wanted them to display. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (Jn 13:34,35). In light of what Jesus would do on Calvary, they would do in caring. And so it is that Christ’s love for us generates love in us.
Many misunderstand or misconstrue love. For them, love is what they get from us, not what they give to us. And they may even take advantage of our love. But we keep on loving like Jesus’ love. The early believers did that as persecution pushed them from their homes in Jerusalem. They did not close their mouths, but opened them as they came into contact with Jews and Gentiles—“telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus” (Acts 11:20). The church sent Barnabas to encourage those who had turned to the Lord in Antioch (Acts 11:22). And it is not just interesting trivia, but true insight: “The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch” (Acts 11:26). A “Christian” does what Christ does. He loves. We love.
That is what our Friend allows his friends to do: “I … appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last” (Jn 15:16). That is our assignment as we remain in Jesus’ love—produce fruits of faith. That is what we have been created in Christ Jesus to bring forth (Eph 2:10). Recall that Jesus has just used that illustration of a vine and branches. The link allows life and where there is life there is fruit. You can expect to find grapes on grape vines. We are not passive, but productive.
That also lets us have direct access to the Father in prayer—when there is urgency. “The Father will give you whatever you ask in my name” (Jn 15:16). We approach him through his Son and request what Jesus would have us petition—stronger faith and firmer resolve, all according to his Word and his will (Mt 22:42). And he answers us according to his wisdom.
And then Jesus comes full circle and as he reviews and reiterates: “This is my command: Love each other” (Jn 15:17). “Forgive us for our failure, Lord.” He does. “Help us in the future, Lord.” He will. And all along, remain in Jesus’ love to bear fruit for him.
It is not easy to love in a loveless world. We know that because we are in the world. And we don’t have to search high and low. Our love is often lacking. We are aware of what love is. “Love is operating in the best interest of the individual loved.” (There is no copyright on that. You can borrow it.) But better, you can be loving. How? Remain in Jesus’ love to be friends with him. That is what we are because of his love for us. Remain in Jesus’ love to bear fruit for him. That is what we do because of his love in us. It is that way for now and forever. Amen.
Peace to you (3 Jn 13). Amen.
May 6, 2018
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