AS I HAVE LOVED YOU

PASTOR RYAN LADEN – DEVOTIONALS

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My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

(John 15:12 NIV11)

It is an amazing fact that the whole of the law of Moses, the entirety of the teaching of the Christ, and the sum total of what God wants his children to be about both in this life as well as in the eternal life to come can be summarized in one simple command… Love each other as I have loved you.  

Receive Love

Admittedly, this is a simple phrase, but it is not simple. Before we can say, love is all we need in order to be right with God, we must see what it means to receive love from God. 

Notice that Jesus is not calling us to some kind of general, undefined, self-centric form of love. Jesus is not saying that all forms of love that are common to mankind are to be in the love bucket that we carry around. Not at all. 

Our love toward others must be patterned on the love that has been given to us by and through Jesus Christ. We must understand more about the love God has for us if we are going to seek to share it with others. 

Describing God’s Love

·  God’s love, as seen in the person of Jesus Christ, is a love that seeks to help others turn away from that which brings pain and loss. 

·  It draws us out of darkness, out of hatred, out of lust and greed. 

·  The love of Christ calls to us and leads us into his own image and nature. 

·  The Love of Jesus calls us away from worry and anxiety and teaches us how to take steps of faith in Christ. 

We could spend a week describing God’s love and still feel like we are missing so much. 

So when we think about the command of Jesus to love other as he has loved us, we need to step back and see that the love of Christ is more than… more than anything that we might say to condense or summarize the amazing gift of God’s love. 

Open

So as we read today’s message from 1 John, we need to listen to this call to follow the command of love with an open mind and open heart. 

7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. 

9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. 10 Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. 11 But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.

(1 John 2:7-11 NIV11)

Fruit of Love

If we have received the love of God as shown to us and given to us through the work and person of Jesus Christ, we will be changed by this gift. We will. 

One of the big areas of change that will accompany everyone who receives the love of God is the way in which we treat one another. Our relationships with others are indicators of how much we have allowed the love of God to permeate our hearts and souls. 

Signs

As we hear in 1 John, hatred toward others, anger and unforgiveness against our friends and enemies, these are signs that we have not yet allowed the love of God to take root in our hearts. As we turn back to the message of the Gospels, and listen anew to the examples of love shown by Jesus Christ, we will see that our treatment of others will follow suit. 

Reflection

·  As you turn toward your day today, spend some time reflecting on the examples of God’s love that you are aware of and allow them to dominate your thoughts today. 

·  When you are made angry, remember the Savior’s love. 

·  When you are tempted to treat others with contempt, speak the love of Jesus over the situation. 

·  Recall his goodness to you throughout your day and allow your heart to change.

In Christ, 

Ryan Laden

PASTOR RYAN LADEN

Works at MTN. CHURCH

Former Senior pastor at Warnbro Community Church

Studies at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at Baylor University

Studied at Texas Tech University

Went to Castle Hills First Baptist

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