John 15:12-15
Loving those who love you is not all that hard, and those
are not my thoughts, the author of love, Love Himself said that. “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you?
For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do
good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if
you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you?
Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your
enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward
will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the
ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” (Luke
6:32-36 ESV)
Do we have any example of Jesus loving His enemies other
than the time of the cross? The answer
is a mighty yes, and it all began before creations in the heart of the Father,
and was followed through by Jesus taking on flesh and living among us. All we have to do is look in the mirror and
come to the understanding that Romans 5:6-10, has exposed us as a person who at
one time wanted to run our own life independent of God. This is the account in Romans, “For while we were
still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will
scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would
dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still
sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by
his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies
we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we
are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life”. (Romans 5:6-10 ESV)
Now, in that we have received grace by the faith that God
has so lovingly given each of us; for we are the ones who have been loved
greatly, it should be natural for us to show love to one another. It was not a request in John 15:12, but a
commandment, “This is my commandment, that you love one
another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12 ESV)
Jesus is very serious about us doing this and when we do
not, and sometimes we forget or we are just into ourselves, and love leaves the
building, so to say. Now when love
leaves the building, it has no effect on our relationship with Jesus, but it
sure muddies the waters in our fellowship with Him. Jesus gives this insight in verses 13-15, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his
life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.
No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master
is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my
Father I have made known to you.” (John
15:13-15 ESV)
Having Jesus as your friend comes with an understanding that
the one who died in your place, and the one who when He died we also died, that
our old self was crucified with Him, in order that the body of sin might be
brought to nothing so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin; and Jesus has
tied a commandment for us to love one another in order to be His friend.
So this truth comes to light, being obedient to the
commandments of Jesus, puts us in the top circles, it connects us with the Father,
the Son and the Holy Spirit, and if we are listening, we are informed as to all
that Jesus is doing in our lives and in this world. He is making known to us what the Father has
told Him. When Jesus speaks, a wise
person will listen, and act on what they have heard.
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
No comments:
Post a Comment