| Fruits of Your Love for God (6) |
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John 15:9-13 (NIV)
"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed 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 that he lay down his life for his friends.
"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed 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 that he lay down his life for his friends.
There are so many scriptures, like Ephesians 4:15 and Romans 8:29, which confirm that God's greatest desire for us as His children is that we become just like Christ in every area of our lives. This needs to become our greatest desire also. We have the same life that is in Jesus and the Spirit of God is at work within us to make us like Jesus in every way. Jesus Himself said that we would do His works and even greater works, John 14:12. Now, one of the primary areas that God desires that we reflect Christ is the way in which we love people. God wants us to love others just the way that Christ loves us. He wants people to feel the love of Christ from the way that we relate with them. Always ask yourself how Christ would respond and love people if He were in your shoes. That should be your response in love to others.Jesus' love is the most selfless and sacrificial love that this world has ever seen. Jesus loved us even when we did not deserve to be loved. Instead of condemning us and writing us off when we were wrong, He was willing to sacrifice and lay down His life to restore us back to God's will for our lives. In Christ, God has empowered you to love and relate with people just like Christ would. God is ready to reveal more of the love of Christ to you and He is also ready to enable you to reveal more of the love of Christ to others. Like Jesus said in our text above, there is a joy that He has in Him that we will begin to experience once we start to love people the way He loves us.
PRAYER FOCUS: Thank God for how much Jesus loves you and receive His grace to mirror that same love to others.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR READING PLAN: 1 CHRON. 23-25 Empowered to do Exploits... - See more at: http://www.cgmglobal.org/aboveonly/index.php#sthash.8wSyhztu.dpuf
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