“As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.” – John 15:9
LIGHT FOR NOW: One of the most astonishing truths Jesus ever spoke is that the Father loves believers with the same kind of love with which He loves His Son.
There are some statements in Scripture so profound that the human mind struggles to fully grasp them. John 15:9 is one of those statements. Jesus says: “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you…” Think about this carefully, Jesus is not comparing two small things. He is comparing the Father’s love for the eternal Son with Christ’s love for believers. This is staggering. Before creation existed, before angels were formed, before the heavens and the earth came into being, the Father loved the Son. Jesus prayed in John 17: “For thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world”.
The love between the Father and the Son did not begin in Bethlehem; it existed from eternity. The Son has always been the object of the Father’s delight. At Jesus’ baptism, the Father declared: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”. At the Mount of Transfiguration, the Father again announced: “This is my beloved Son”. The Son eternally lives in the Father’s affection. Yet Jesus says: “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you”. Notice He did not say: “I love you a little”. He did not say: “I love you less”. He points believers to the very pattern of divine love existing within the Godhead. This should completely transform how believers see themselves.
Many Christians secretly live as though they are merely tolerated by God. They believe God accepts them because He has to. They imagine His love is weak, hesitant, or conditional. But Jesus reveals something far greater. The love believers receive is rooted in the same divine love that has eternally existed between the Father and the Son. This does not mean believers become equal to Christ in position. The Son remains unique and eternal. However, through union with Christ, believers become recipients of the Father’s affection. This is one of the great blessings of redemption. The Father no longer sees believers merely in Adam. He sees them in Christ. This is why Paul repeatedly uses the phrase: “In Christ”. In Christ, believers are accepted. In Christ, believers are loved. In Christ, believers are welcomed into the Father’s family.
Jesus then says: “Continue ye in my love”. The word “continue” can also be translated “abide”, “remain” or “dwell”. This is important. The Christian life is not merely about knowing God’s love intellectually. It is about living consciously within that love. Many believers visit the reality of God’s love occasionally. Jesus invites them to live there continually. To abide in His love means to make His love your dwelling place. It means waking each day aware that you are loved. It means praying from the position of being loved. It means serving from the position of being loved. It means obeying from the position of being loved.
The believer’s relationship with God should never be driven primarily by fear; it should be driven by love. Fear says: “I must perform so God will accept me”. Love says: “I am accepted, therefore I desire to obey Him”. Fear creates distance; love produces intimacy. Fear produces striving; love produces trust. This is why understanding the Father’s love is essential for spiritual maturity. A believer who knows he is loved becomes stable. He is not constantly shaken by circumstances. He is not constantly seeking validation from people. He learns to rest in the Father’s affection. And from that place of rest, true spiritual growth flourishes.
INSTRUCTION: Throughout today, remind yourself often: “I am loved by the Father through Christ”. Let this truth shape your thoughts, prayers, and actions.
CONFESSION/PRAYER: Father, thank You for loving me through Your Son Jesus Christ. Help me to abide continually in that love and live every day from the security of being deeply loved by You. May Your love drive out fear and establish my heart in confidence and peace. Amen.
For More light; get the message, ‘The Love of God’
QUOTE: Spiritual maturity grows best in the soil of a heart convinced of the Father’s love.
DAILY READING: MORNING: JOHN CHAPTER 15; EVENING: JOHN CHAPTER 17:20-26
LIGHT FROM THE WORD 