JOHN 15:9 – As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you.
THEME OF THE DAY. THE LOVE OF GOD IN THE HUMAN HEART. Today’s verse is a deep well every believer should dive into frequently. It has explosive power to lift any Christian out of the pit of despair. It fuels worship anytime, anywhere. It will drive away the darkest clouds of sorrow and pain. Go back and immerse ourselves into it for a moment. Let our hearts and minds ponder the staggering implications of Jesus’ Words. But these words go beyond our personal comfort and joy. To experience this love of God; this love of God the Father and God the Son is transformational. It must change our lives. It will change our lives. No one who truly encounters the love of God remains the same. In fact, this verse, this declaration of God’s love by Jesus is the precursor, even the requirement, to be able to live out these words of the Apostle Paul – “For the love of Christ controls us” (2 Corinthians 5:14a). To be controlled by the love of Christ, we must be experiencing the love of Christ. Today’s scripture then becomes, not just an encouraging Word, but an active pursuit in the Christian life and will ultimately define our Christian life. So, if this is true, the Christian life is experiencing the love of God that leads to being controlled by the love of God, what would that look like in our lives? What should we see developing in our lives if we are encountering and being transformed by the love of God. At least three things.
First, when the love of God is controlling the children of God, hatred for what this love delivered us from – sin – occurs. The Psalmist writes “O, you who love the Lord, hate evil” (Psalm 97:10). There is a direct contrast between loving God and hating sin. It is a natural fruit of new birth, yet, we know it is a war in our souls because there remains the lure and pull of sin. The Apostle Paul describes the experience of every child of God – “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate” (Romans 7:15). Though we sin, the love of God causes us to hate sin.
Another thing occurs in the hearts of God’s children under the control of His love; a genuine love for all people – saved and unsaved. This, too, is natural for born again people. “For God so loved the world” becomes “We so loved the world.” This is the strongest evidence we have passed out of spiritual death to spiritual life. The Apostle John tells us, “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death” (1 John 3:14). We simply cannot love God, experience God’s love, and yet harbor unloving attitudes toward anyone.
A third truth which will be in the lives of God’s people experiencing His love and learning to be controlled by it will be an increasing life of self-denial for others. Self-interests will steadily be abandoned for the interests of others. We will see more and more our lives oriented around serving others. Notice this truth right AFTER the Apostle Paul mentions being controlled by the love of Christ – “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). And this self-denying life will be a joy, not a dull duty. We will experience the liberation from the ugliness of selfishness.
The love of God. It is what we were created and redeemed to know. And it is transformational in the heart of God’s people who encounter it regularly and deeply. It fuels our hatred for sin, love for people, and a life like Jesus of denying self for others.
PRAYER: “Father, I praise You for loving me with a love that never ends and empowers my life.”
QUOTE: “To live under the control of Christ’s love is to be the Christian’s daily passion and pursuit.”