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| Love One Another |
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| Written by Doug Craven | |
| Wednesday, 27 May 2009 | |
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“Love One Another” John 15:9-17 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” John 15:9-10 NSRV In today’s Scripture text from chapter 15 we read Jesus’s directive, “This is my command: Love each other.” And we are told in Chapter 14 verse 15 Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” Therefore, if we truly embrace Christ Jesus as he loved humanity then we are commanded to share Christian love with the entire world. Christian love is not a manufactured feeling. Christian love is learning to treat each other the same way God treats us. Love is a matter of the will, not of emotions. Jesus also said, “My command is this: “Love each other as I have loved you.”(v.12) But then the text goes on to engage the power of real love: Verses 13 & 14 : Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you. We know the depth of God’s love shared with us as God so loved the world that he gave a part of the essence of God, Jesus Christ in place of the children. John 3:16 and 17 says: For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. these lines of text should echo in our ears forever. True love is the willingness for us all to give of ourselves freely and to give all for one another. But, we must choose to love. It is a conscious act of our will. The more we deliberately will to love one another, the more our emotions begin to change. Paul shares in Romans 13:8 that he had learned the lesson of the text well and he wrote: Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. When we love our neighbor, we do not do things to intentionally hurt them. We do not violate them, their family, or their name. We do not defame their reputation, or attempt to assert ourselves over them. Rather we are called to give ourselves freely to and for them as they too can see the love of God shining through In 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 verses 9-10 Paul wrote: Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love Yet, we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more. And as the song says: ...they will know we are Christians by our love, by our love... The 1967 the group known as the Youngbloods said it well.. “Some may come and some may go, and it will surely pass When the one that left us here, returns for us at last We are but a moment’s sunlight, fading in the grass C’mon people, smile on your brother Ev’rybody get together try to love one another right now.... ...In all our daily living. Amen. Doug Craven, Pastor Flemingsburg Presbyterian Church |
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