02-09-13 BFG 6

John 15:9-17 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. 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. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other."

Can you fathom this: As much as Father loved Jesus, Jesus loves us. I don't think we can ever really understand the magnitude of His love for us.

How His heart breaks when we are hearts are broken in so many pieces we can even begin to imagine how to put them back together again.

How His heart hurts when we in pain - whether physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually (those times when we feel so distant from Him).

How His heart longs to give us mercy when we have sinned... if only we would take that one small step towards Him again; how He longs to extend forgiveness and banish the shame from our hearts.

How His heart sorrows and grieves when we have lost someone we love (whether through death or otherwise).... or when we have suffered others losses ('let go' from a job, a spouse leaves, a childhood lost).

How His heart desires to extend His grace - His favor - His ability to overcome - when He sees us struggling through life on our own strength.

How His heart opens wides to comfort us when we are afraid to fill us with courage and boldness.

I could go on and on, but maybe you can think of some other ways He shows His love for us.

Jesus says that we are to remain in His love. We can jump out of it - we don't have to stay, but why would we want to leave once we found it?

He says if we keep his command, we'll remain in His love. What commands? Well, looks to me as if it's listed twice in these several verses.... LOVE EACH OTHER.

THEN he goes on to say that we are HIS FRIENDS if we do what He commanded. This love He is talking about is unconditional love. No strings attached.

I've heard it said for years (and I've even said it myself), "I love so and so, but I don't have to like them." I said that about certain significant people in my life that did horrendous harm to me. Justifying it because 'well, the Bible says I have to love them - it doesn't say I have to like them."

I know the Lord is about to do some correcting when I have that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach... and this is one of those times.

We can like a lot of things. We can like cars or motorcycles or books or certain foods or a certain game, tv show, etc. It's like saying, 'Yeah, it's... well... okay.' It could be the same with people. I like this person - so I might hang out with them. Or I don't like this person, so I'm going to steer clear of them if I have the chance.

What if Jesus did the same thing? What if He said "I like you, but I don't have to love you." Well, for one He'd be going against His own command. But more importantly, He wouldn't have died for us and we would all still be lost sinners. Can we even imagine what life would be like without God there to turn to in times of trouble or to thank in times of joy. No, died for us because He LOVED us unconditionally -- no conditions. He died for us because Father hates sin - He hates what it does to us - He hates how it separates us from Him and from each other.

Jesus says that everything He learned from the Father He makes known to us.... and a little later that whatever we ask for in His Name, Father will give us. I don't think it's a coincidence that He says this in the midst of these verses. If we ask, He will give us the a love for others that we did not ever think possible... it's HIS love that flows through us. So we can say, 'I love you' to the one we previously JUST liked.... barely. Since He loves us with such an unconditional love, and He says that everything He has done we can do and even greater things (go left a chapter and down to verse 12), then we can do this because He is the one who gives us love in the first place! He is our source.

We can hate the sin in a person (by the way, we've all sinned, as far as I know), but let's love the sinner with the love that Jesus gave us. So, if He freely gives us His love in our hearts to love others, then we CAN love others. He's proved it's possible AND He says we're His friends if we like, I mean LOVE one another. Let's be best friends with our Lord, our Savior, our God.