ABIDE IN LOVE

PASTOR RYAN LADEN – DEVOTIONALS

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In today’s reading from John chapter 15, we encounter one of the most amazing truths found anywhere in the message of the Bible. That truth is that we are loved by God. And the more that we allow this truth to take hold I our hearts, the more we will WANT to bring joy to the Lord by following the example of Christ. 

We can hear this truth in the following passage:

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

(John 15:9-11 NIV11) 

As the Father 

This reading opens with one of the most amazing, and frankly hard to believe, messages of love and grace that I have ever heard. Jesus Christ is telling his followers that he loves them in the same way, with the same force, that the Heavenly Father loves God the Son. 

Jesus said it this way, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.” I can try and contemplate the power of this statement for the rest of my life ad I am sure I will never fully understand or appreciate the grace of this truth. 

Point

The point of this message can be crudely summarized in the following: you are truly and completely loved by the Lord. As we embrace this truth, the love of God will impact the way we think, the way we love, and the way we treat other people. 

This point was reiterated by the Holy Spirit in the message of John’s first letter to the church:

9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

(1 John 4:9-11 NIV11)

Before

Before we knew God, we were loved by God. Before we became aware of the gift of grace as seen and experienced through the work of Jesus Christ, we were enveloped in the all-consuming love of the Lord. 

The more that we see and experience the love of God in our day to day lives, the more that we will see God at work in us, helping us to express this same gift of love to those around us. 

What a miracle God is doing in our hearts as we understand and accept his love!

Abide

At the end of John 15:9, Jesus said, “Now remain in my love.” The way this idea of remaining in the love of Jesus Christ is presented in the NIV translation makes this message from Jesus sound like he is telling us that we can fall out of his love based on our own effort and ability. 

But the Greek word being used here (μένω – menō) carries with it a meaning of resting in the love of God. The word has been correctly translated by others as “abide in my love.” This is a kind of resting dependence. It is an instruction to settle into the love of Christ rather than continue to try and earn it or work for it. 

We are being called to accept the love of God and rest in this gift. 

How?

In John 15:10, Jesus continues this idea of abiding in the love of god by saying (my translation), “If you walk in my teaching, you will continue to abide in my love, just as I walk in my Father’s teaching and abide in his love.”

I have heard too many confused people use this one line to support the idea that if we walk away from God during a season of hurt or rebellion that we are no longer included in his love. That is just silly. 

Because of God’s great love, Jesus Christ willingly came to die for sinners, those who have not been able to perfectly keep the commands and teachings of the law. It was because of love that Jesus went to the cross. Why then would our sin, the thing Jesus bore on our behalf, then somehow negate the love and grace of God? Again, this is a silly idea. 

More

What we need to hear from Jesus in this teaching is that, the more we abide in the love of God, the more we will desire obedience to his command. The more that we follow his teaching, the more we will understand and experience his love, which in turn leads us to desire more obedience. 

As we abide in the love of Jesus we will grow in our desire to follow his example and keep his commands. That is the point we need to hear today. 

Joy

In John 15:11, Jesus said, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” 

Here is something we need to meditate on today. 

•  When we embrace the love of God as shown in the person and work of Jesus Christ, we bring joy to the Lord. 
•  When we allow the love of God to take root in our hearts and minds in such a way that it leads us to desire obedience to the teaching of Jesus Christ, we bring joy to the Lord. 
•  When we fall down and mess up, we need only to receive the gift of God’s love and mercy. As we do, the Lord works in us through the power of his Holy Spirit, to help us return to a place of obedience and joy. 

Thank Jesus for the gift of his love!

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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