Love's Repsonse Series

The Holy Spirit is God’s Spirit; the Holy Spirit ushers to us the presence of Father and Son to indwell us and to share fellowship with us. Hence, as God was at work on the cross in Christ to save us, so now God is at work in the Spirit to transform us. I cannot underscore sufficiently how important this is. God is on our side. He is at work renewing us and loving us. This is the gospel.

The license plate on my NEIGHBOR’S CAR across the street says “Yes Lord.” While driving to work those words stayed in my mind. Was there any situation to which Yes Lord did not hold the key? I could think of none. What great joy it would bring Jesus if I began every day with those two words!

Yes, Lord. I’ll be content where I am instead of wishing I were somewhere else.” “Yes Lord, I’ll trust You for the outcome of the uncertainty gnawing at my mind.” “Yes, Lord, I’ll open my heart and hand with the joyous generosity of Your love. The resolution of every trouble we face today begins with this trusting response to our Savior: “Yes, Lord!” You never go wrong when you choose to obey Christ.

In verse 24 Jesus again makes His Word the every word of God. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the Word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.

Christ now expresses the same teaching from the negative view point. Since the one who keeps His Word loves Him it logically follows that the man who does not love Christ does not keep His Word. Love is not regarded in this Gospel as an abstract emotion. Love is something intensely practical. Love involves obedience to the Word.

The seriousness of the necessity to be obedient to the Word is brought out by the reminder that the Word of Jesus is not His own but that of the Father (7:16; 8:28; 12:49).

Characteristically, the Father is spoken of as the One who sent the Son (3:17). The mission of Christ is never far from the view of Christ. For He came to show by deeds His redemptive love for man. Jesus will later say (17:18) that as the Father has sent Him into the world, even so He sends them or us into the world.

CONCLUSION

Christ gives us His whole self when we transfer our trust to Him and His atonement for our salvation. But He can live through us only as we keep his Word. He puts Himself into our hands and into our hearts when we humbly trust Him and imperfectly try to love Him. We are then like the bud of a flower which once the light is focused upon it, its lovely and fragrant petals are disclosed. And once our obedience to His Word begins to flow from a heart warmed by the reception of His love something beautiful unfolds in our life also.

Is the beauty and fragrance of Christ’s love for mankind being lived out, being disclosed to the world through you?

Four-year-old Martha, hugging a doll in each of her pudgy little arms, looked wistfully up at her mother and said, “Mamma, I love them and love them and love them, but they never love me back.”

Christ has taught that My love is proven by My obedience and that love for Him produces obedience to His Word. You have proven and are now proving and will prove how much you love Christ.

Read Jn 14:21