Daily Devotion: Remaining in Christ's Love

Scripture:
John 15: 1-17
Main Verses:
John 15: 10-12
10 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. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

Observation:
It is interesting to note that the words "love" and "remain" were mentioned 11 times in chapter 15 of the Book of John. Both words are given equal weight: If we love Jesus, we will remain in Him. If we want to remain in him, we will love others. Jesus wants us to remain in His love. It is hard to love someone that you are not close with, or someone that has done something bad to you, or someone that has caused you pain. But Jesus' command is clear in v. 12: Love each other as I have loved you. 

It is hard to feel joy and peace if you hate someone. We make mistakes while here on earth, we hurt others and others hurt us, both intentionally or unintentionally. But no matter how hard it is to love others that have caused us pain, we should love them and treat them as our brothers and sisters. It was given as a command. And Jesus promises that if we remain in his love, Jesus will fill our hearts with joy. Isn't it better to be filled with joy rather than sadness?

Application:
I can no longer count the times when I have been hurt by others. But these hurtful situations should not let me stop from loving these people that the Lord himself loves. We can all learn from Jesus' example. He was hurt when he healed ten lepers, yet only one returned to thank and praise God. He was hurt when Judas betrayed him. He was hurt when Peter denied him three times. He was hurt when the people that he wanted to save crucified him. Yet, these situations did not stop him from loving us. Out of his love and obedience to God the Father, he sacrified himself on the cross. Indeed, this is the greatest example of love: "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends" (v.13).

Prayer:
Father, thank you for showing me a great example of true love. Let me be an example to others of how your love fills me. Let your love be revealed to others through me. Amen.