As The Father Loves
John 15:9 (ESV) says, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.”
That is a keystone verse for our ministry, but it can be hard to put into words just how deep this saying of Jesus goes for us. The more I revisit this verse, the more I learn about who God is and what he desires for his people.
He desires a relationship that is not just technical or positional. He wants to be connected to us continually. God is not pleased when people who carry the title of Christ-follower live disconnected from Christ.
I do not believe he is condemning or angry at us when this happens (God is by his own word slow to anger), but his heart is grieved and lovesick for communion with his people. Remember yesterday’s verse? God doesn’t delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices. He wants an open ear and his law written on our hearts.
Abiding In The Father’s Love
Still, this isn’t the most radical part of this verse. Jesus calls us to abide in divine love. We are recipients of a love that flows from the Father to the Son and out to us.
Abba (father) loves us more deeply than we could ever know.
Jesus lived daily from this love. Can you imagine the longing that Jesus had for the love of his Father? He came from outside of time into time. He stepped out of the glory of heaven into the flesh. I see him constantly going away to pray, to spend more time with his Father.
There is no closer connection of a father and son than between God the Father and Christ the Son. Yet this is the kind of love Christ calls us to abide in.
It is completely unbelievable, yet undeniably true. And it comes by faith. That is why this verse is hard to put into words. I cannot articulate for you what it looks like to be connected to God's love like this, but I do know that the enemy wages war on our connection to God's love. He loves to take every inch of ground we give him to eliminate our connection to God.
Learning To Abide
I want to encourage you that nothing you can do that would disqualify you from God's love. Nothing you do will earn you God's love. When Jesus says to come and abide in this love, he is speaking to all of us who are ready to step closer to God. He invites the saint and the sinner, the rich and the poor, the wise and the foolish.
Doing so is simple. With open arms, we invite God to help us enter into his love. We surrender the other things that try to steal our energy and attention. We rest in the presence of the Holy Spirit and allow Him to teach us.
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