17th April

“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are My friends if you do what I command.”

John 15:13-14

Isn’t it just great that we can be friends with the creator of the universe. It is such a strange concept for some but the very words of Jesus, here in John 15 demonstrate to us the genuine love and affection Jesus has for us, in that He was willing to lay down His life for us. According to Jesus’ words there is no greater act of love. Jesus longed for a genuine and intimate relationship with His creation. After all that is why He came right?

However what can we do to ever live up to Jesus’ standards of love and affection. We cant physically lay our lives down for Him in the same way He did for us can we? Well, technically we can! Jesus’ requirements for our part of the deal was simply to accept what He did for us and to obey His commandments. A lifestyle choice to lay down our own way of living and submit to His way. So what were His commandments?

Jesus twice states what His commandments are for us. First in verse 12 and then again in verse 17. Simply “Love each other in the same way I have loved you!”. It is a big ask to love with the same love that Jesus showed us, however, with the help of the Holy Spirit and submitting all our relationships to Jesus, (that also includes people we have not met yet, because they need to know His love too!!), it is possible.

Yet we can only love if we remain in His love and obey His commandments! The challenge for us today is to know that we are loved and we are friends of Jesus. There is no greater love in this world that can replace or substitute the love that Christ has for us. We are His friends…by His own admission.