Love One Another

¹¹ These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. ¹² "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵ 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. ¹⁶ You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide; so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. ¹⁷ This I command you, to love one another.

John 15: 11-17

Sometimes we make the message of Jesus to complicated. There are certain passages of scripture that just lay it out. John 3:16 for example. I think the above verses are one of the keys to understanding the kingdom of God. If you want to do what Jesus said to do....here it is: "LOVE ONE ANOTHER". It is that simple. If everyone did it, the world would be a much nicer place in which to live. On Jesus's last night on earth he gave his disciples a promotion. In verse 15, they are promoted from "servants" to "friends". The reason for this is that they have been given a revelation from God. They get to understand the nature of the good news. They have the freedom of will to choose. They do not "have" to do what Jesus asks. It is their choice. Without free will to choose, there can be no love. We were made in the image of God. God gave us the ability to choose Him if we wish? How would you like to be a friend of God? That would be pretty cool! In fact, that is "good news"! Oh, that we could just live our lives with the simplicity of knowing that God is our Father and that he cares about us. Try it....and, I think you will discover that it is an awesome gift of grace that gives us each the power to be transformed into His image. All we have to do is love one another in the process.

Confessing Jesus as Lord

"Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him I will confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But, whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven."

Matthew 10:32-33

Jesus came to establish a relationship with those whom would be his followers. Becoming identified as a follower of Jesus is not without risks. In the early church, believers were persecuted for their faith for confessing that "Jesus is Lord". While today the church in America is not physically persecuted for professing faith in Jesus; it is becoming increasingly unpopular in a population that prides itself on multiculturalism to stand for one's faith in Jesus as the Messiah of the Bible. The consequences are huge. One cannot live in this world and deny one's faith in Jesus without eternal repercussions. How we live makes a difference. A Christian's light is supposed to shine before all mankind.

What believers discover is that once one has confessed faith in Jesus as the son of God and been born again by water and spirit, God places a believer in a group of fellow believers called a church. A church is not a building or an institution. The church is the incarnation of the body of Christ made up of sinful, broken people who being re-made in the image of their Lord and savior Jesus. Psalm 133 describes the blessings of being unified with believers this way:

"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard...."

Yet, Jesus himself warned that he did not come to the earth to bring peace. He foretold that faith in him would divide even families (Matt. 10:34-36). Followers of Jesus seek unity and speak in humility and love. While we are to be peaceable and gentle in wisdom (1 Peter 3:15; James 3: 17-18), we can never turn our back on the one who died for us by denying Him.