You might recall, I mentioned last week in my “Remain in Me” thoughts, I would continue sharing more of the richness of Jesus’ words in subsequent verses from John 15:9-17.
I encourage you to go grab your Bible and read those verses or click here as I will only highlight a few verses to share with you.
What a powerful statement Jesus shares with the first sentence in that verse!
Read that again and think of the impact that should and hopefully has in your life.
Jesus loves you like God loves Jesus, His only Begotten Son!!
First, let’s think about how God, the Father, loves His Son, Jesus.
–God is always with Jesus; they are really one
Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. –John 14:11 (NIV)
–God placed everything in Jesus’ hands
The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. –John 3:35 (NIV)
–God loves Jesus, as He was the perfect example of obedience sent to redeem us
The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life–only to take it up again. –John 10:17 (NIV)
–God calls Jesus His beloved
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” –Matthew 17:5 (ESV)
God’s love for Jesus has been a perfect loving relationship for all of eternity, from the very beginning of existence until the very end! I am not sure our finite minds can truly comprehend the great love that God has for His only begotten Son, Jesus. I believe it is immeasurable.
What a privilege you have each moment of your life knowing that Jesus loves you with that very same love that God has for Jesus!
Photo courtesy of Stuart Caie under Creative Commons License (CC BY 2.0)
Do you get a glimpse of Jesus’ love for you when you see the beauty of nature, when people are put in your path when you need some encouragement, or when a need is met unexpectedly, which you did not voice to anyone?
Jesus’ love for you is so great! Do you find it difficult to always understand or accept in your life? Isn’t your view of love more defined or conditional because of your “humanness?”
Jesus sacrificed His very life to show His great love for you! What encouragement to always remain in Jesus’ love!
Can you imagine when you get to heaven, Jesus greeting you with “Welcome my beloved son/daughter?”
I pray that statement may make its way directly to your heart even though your finite mind might not be able to comprehend how someone can love you so unconditionally!
Are you in awe of hearing that Jesus calls you “friend?” Wow! Let that resonate deep down in your heart too!
Jesus came to this earth to share with YOU everything He learned from God! That makes you not a servant of Jesus, but a true friend!
How fortunate is it that you get to know everything about the Father that Jesus knows? You get to know how the story all fits together, my dear reader!
You can be assured that Jesus picked you to be His friend! He is the best friend, one who never leaves you or forsakes you, and always loves you! Truly, He is the ultimate friend.
I pray that you know deep in your soul that Jesus is truly the best friend you can ever have! What a wonderful calling to be Jesus’ friend even while living on this earth!
Jesus CHOSE you!
Yes, because of Jesus’ great love for you, calling you friend that He chose you!
In fact, He chose to die for you! Jesus willingly and freely, gave up His life for you, my dear reader!
Isn’t it something to consider how God gave us all free will in our lives too? Unfortunately, sometimes people choose not to let Jesus into their hearts and change their lives forever. Jesus still chose the cross for them!
The privilege you have, since Jesus chose you, is to go and bear fruit–fruit that will last for all eternity!
Photo courtesy of Leonard J Matthews under Creative Commons License (CC BY-ND 2.0)
Fruit that looks like:
…loving God and Jesus above all; then your neighbor as yourself
…joy in living out your personal relationship with God each day, knowing you are fulfilling His will
…peace which abides deep in your heart knowing God is always with you, guiding your every step
…patience with your shortcomings and with the people in your life
…kindness in the way you deal with all the different personalities and temperaments of people
…goodness with showing a mixture of righteousness and love for others
…faithfulness in standing up for what you know is God’s will and nature
…gentleness with how you deal with all of God’s creation
…self-control with your life in dealing with impulses of the flesh you are tempted by
I pray you may be filled with joy as you reflect on the fact that Jesus chose you and you get to bear His fruit daily!
As you go about life this week be encouraged to remember Jesus’ powerful love for YOU~~
–Remain in Jesus’ love for you which is equal to the love that God has for Jesus
–You are Jesus’ chosen friend as He has shared all of God with you
–Jesus specifically chose you…to bear His fruit in this life
I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them. –John 17:26 (NIV)
