9 ¶ As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved
you: continue ye in my love. 10 If ye
keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my
Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. 11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my
joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. 12 This is my commandment, That ye love one
another, as I have loved you. 13 Greater
love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
14 Ye are my friends, if ye do
whatsoever I command you. 15 Henceforth
I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I
have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have
made known unto you. 16 Ye have not
chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring
forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of
the Father in my name, he may give it you. 17
These things I command you, that ye love one another.
If you think about it, this is a startling statement. As God
the Father loves the Lord Jesus Christ, so Christ loves His disciples. We often hear preachers talk about Christ’s
special relationship with the Father, but that relationship is also available
between Christ and us. Now, if I had an agenda I would go on to tell you that
the way to have that relationship is to do what I tell you, which, is, of
course, nonsense and even evil if I couldn’t back that up scripturally.
Let Christ be our guide and let His words in His Book be our
final authority in all matters of faith, practice, and doctrine reading it to
whom it is written, for what purpose , and in what context, knowing what is
directly applicable to us as doctrine and what we can make a spiritual
application with. Of course, then, every verse in the Bible applies to our
lives in some way.
If we are to be Christ’s followers we must follow His
instructions and His example in obedience. Now, beware of someone who applauds
you as having a ‘servant’s heart’ as that usually means they think you will be
submissive to their own will. It often has nothing to do with Christ. Christ
has given us His commandments, His instructions, and His standard of
righteousness in the gospels and He has given us the perfect example of
obedience to the Father for us to follow.
Christ has given us His words that His joy may remain in us
and that our joy may be filled. Joy is first mentioned in the Bible with
dancing and singing and musical instruments playing in 1Samuel 18:6. It is not
just a good feeling. It is more than that.
1Kings 1:40 And all the people came up after him, and the
people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent
with the sound of them.
Do you have joy in the Lord? I was a Christian for sixteen
years before I even knew what joy was, when God confirmed to me what a Bible
truly was and God spoke to my heart, not in an audible voice, but in the quiet
way the Holy Ghost speaks to the Christian’s heart, changing, molding, and
sanctifying; setting him or her apart for God’s use. If you don’t have joy,
why? Are you just spiritually lifeless like preachers and evangelists insist,
because you don’t come to church enough, don’t hand out enough gospel tracts,
don’t give enough money? Or are you without joy because someone has robbed you
of it? Is it possible you’ve been lied to by someone who is also deceived?
Why do you not have joy? It is one of the fruit of the
Spirit in Galatians 5. Is it perhaps
because you’ve been taught that every bad thing that happens to you must be
because you haven’t been in the church building enough, tried to sell Christ on
the street or door to door enough, or given enough money to the church
organization so a new floor can be put on the church basketball court? The
solution for that is to read the Book of Job, Jeremiah, the other prophets, and, in fact, the entire Bible
cover to cover to see that even the most righteous and “faithful” Christian
will suffer and not necessarily know exactly why and that we live in fallen
bodies in a fallen world and that no one, “does business with God,” as the
evangelists like to say when they want to see you come up in front of the
church and get on your knees because their sermon manipulated your emotions so
well.
Have joy. Christ has overcome the world and death itself as
we are told in the Bible and the Creator of the universe wants to have a
relationship with you 24/7. Have joy. Be giddy about it. Dance for the Lord and
sing praises to Him. Rent the very earth with the sound of your joy. You are
going to be with the Lord forever and ever! If you are sick now, have joy. If
you have suffered a loss and are grieving, have joy. If you have been told you
are going to die, have joy. If you have lost your job, have joy. If your
friends and family have rejected you or you are being persecuted because of
your love for Christ, have joy. If you are young and uncertain about what the
future holds, have joy. If you are old and tired and ready to go, have joy. Whatever
situation God has placed you in, that’s right, God has placed you in, HAVE JOY!
Christ gave His commandment again, to love one another, to
be willing to lay down our lives for each other, to die to Self and selfish
desires, no longer wanting to dominate and control and manipulate and exploit
others to satisfy your own desires or to justify your own convictions.
If we do Christ’s will we are not servants, but His friends.
James 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith,
Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was
called the Friend of God.
Christ has told us what we are to do, which is nothing more
than a master tells a servant, but He has also told us why, which is how we
would treat a friend, a close companion, whose will and ours are in agreement
on a task.
God chose us because He knew we would believe. He ordained
us that we might bring forth fruit and not just whenever we feel motivated but
that it would come from the Spirit’s indwelling and God speaking to us through
His words.
Again, it is said that anything asked in His name and, of
course, by His will and not contrary to it, He will do. He has commanded us to
love one another. There are so many Scriptures that tell us in the New
Testament how we are to be as the body of Christ on earth there is no excuse
for looking at yourself as being of ‘a better sort’ than others in the assembly,
trying to psychologically manipulate others, trying to guilt others and control
them so them so they are a miniversion of yourself, judging others by your own
experiences; the ‘been there, done that, got the t-shirt’ crowd,but to truly be
concerned with the spiritual growth IN THE LORD of each and every one of your
brothers and sisters rather than how they submit to your plans and prejudices.
Christ is preparing to die for the sins of the world and to
be raised from the grave in victory to those who count themselves as the Friend
of God. He is also preparing them for the trials and tribulations they will
have to endure.
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