John 15
Cindy preached about the community of faith on Sunday. All the scripture passages this week deal at least in part with the community of faith.
This chapter has number of amazing passages. Consider:
"If you obey my command, you will remain in my love"
"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"
"You did not choose me, but I chose you"
"This is my command: Love each other"
Love is at the heart of each of these passages. Love is at the heart of following Jesus. If we are to follow Jesus, it will be reflected in how we love others.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I really like the analogy of the vine and the gardener. It's easy to see that God is the one who has made us who we are today. Without Him tending to us, we would not be able to survive, let alone thrive in this life. This passage exemplifies that we were created to be different from other men on this world...in fact, we are to be hated by the world because we do not love the same things that it does. Jesus wants us to follow His ways, to be like Him.
ReplyDeleteWhen I look at the above passages, I would like to think that I follow in Jesus' path in all situations, but I don't. Would I lay down my life for my friend…how good of a friend are they? By questioning all of this, I’m loving what the world loves-myself; Jesus loved others. It’s really hard to love your friends all the time, let alone your enemies, too. Yet by not loving both, I’m not following Jesus. Loving and following are almost one in the same. I can’t love if I don’t follow, and if I don’t love, then I am not following.