Based on the LGG Study, Abiding in Jesus, w4d1
Read and SOAP: John 15:9-10
“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain (abide) in my love. 10 When you obey my commandments, you remain (abide) in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain (abide) in his love.
John 15:9-10
Several verses came to mind as I was contemplating today’s passage.
- The first was John 14:15, where Jesus told His disciples: “If you love me, you will obey me.”
- The second one was the words of Jesus at the Mount of Olives, where He prayed: “Father, not my will but Yours be done.” Luke 22:42
- Last, but not least, was the command of Jesus to His disciples in John 13:34: “Love one another; Just as I have loved you, you should love one another.”
After reading through today’s verses I backed up for a broader understanding of the text and found that, in this same conversation with His disciples, Jesus declared in John 14:11 that “I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” In other words, they (the Father and Son) are intertwined in love and purpose. This being said, it stands to reason that Jesus’ love is a reflection of God’s love; and likewise, when we remain in Jesus, we will live obediently and love deeply reflecting God’s love to the people/world around us.
As believers we have a choice to follow the Jesus Way or go our own way. The first leads to life, joy, and peace. It offers forgiveness and freedom and a close relationship with God (Father, Son, and Spirit). Going our own way, on the other hand, leads to misery in the ‘wilderness’, which is separation or interruption to an otherwise close/right relationship with God through Jesus Christ.1
When we learn to remain in His love, obedience stops being a burden and becomes a beautiful response to the One who loves us beyond measure. It becomes an act of trust, knowing that His rules are rooted in His perfect love for us.
Love God Greatly, Abiding in Jesus, p119
Friends, have you ever read something or heard someone speaking and wondered how they knew exactly what you were thinking or had done? Today’s devotion by Love God Greatly, for w4d1 of Abiding in Jesus, is one of those scenarios for me, specifically, the way she prayed for her girls. What follows that first paragraph is, in large part, mirrored in my own journal entry for today, which was written a day before I ever read the LGG entry I’m sharing below.
INTO THE TEXT: by love God Greatly, journal entry from, Abiding in Jesus,p119
Through the years, I have prayed that as my girls grew, their love for God would deepen. My prayer has always been that they would understand obedience to God isn’t about checking boxes or following a list of rules but about responding to His overwhelming love for them.
When we grow in our relationship with Jesus and learn to abide in Him more and more each day, He begins to transform us from the inside out, giving us both the desire and the strength to obey Him. When we learn to remain in His love, obedience stops being a burden and becomes a beautiful response to the One who loves us beyond measure. It becomes an act of trust, knowing that His rules are rooted in His perfect love for us.
To abide in Jesus’ love is to live in the assurance that we are deeply cherished. His love changes everything. It fuels our desire to follow Him and enables us to reflect that love to others. Joyful, willing obedience is very different from begrudgingly following a set of rules. It comes from delighting in Jesus and letting His love so fill our hearts that we will, in turn, love Him with all of our hearts.
The key to obedience is love. The more we fall in love with Jesus, the more willing we are to follow Him. And as we do, our relationship with Him deepens, allowing us to bear fruit that blesses others and fills our hearts with joy.
Prayer, Abiding in Jesus, by LGG/p119
Dear Jesus, thank you for cherishing me. Help me to remain in your love and to obey You out of my love for You. Teach me to walk closely with You and bear fruit that brings You glory. Amen.
The More We Know
For more insight, check out today’s LGG Blog Post
Me From the Inside Out 