Love Those Around Us || The Jesus Connection #5 (FINALE)

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.” – John 15:5-6

What does it mean to remain in Jesus? How can we connect with Jesus to have a strong relationship with him? This is what our new series will be about. In this series, we have examined different statements we believe in as Christians regarding understanding who Christ is. This series is called “The Jesus Connection” because I aim to strengthen your connection to who Jesus is and what believing in him can do for your life.

In the final, I’ll show that Christians relate in love to the community of believers.

John 15:9-17

9            “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love.

10          When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.

11          I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!

12          This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.

13          There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

14          You are my friends if you do what I command.

15          I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.

16          You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.

17          This is my command: Love each other.

When things are fantastic, we feel amazing. When things suck, we fall into depression. These are life’s highs and lows, the ebbs and flows. Yet, true joy, found in Christ, exists in all circumstances. Joy comes from a consistent relationship with Jesus. It’s getting up the day after getting fired and saying, “God, you are so good. Help me to use this day to do your will.” It’s sitting with your cup of coffee while listening to your kids screaming at each other, or you, and saying, “God, thank you for the bundles of life you’ve given me and helping me to become the best parent I can for them.” It’s seeking and staying in that attitude of joy and gratitude when everything around says to do otherwise. It’s not easy by any stretch, but Christ will give us the strength to stay there when we feel weak.

When our lives are intertwined and the joys and sorrows of life, God will help us walk through adversity without sinking into a deep depression and celebrate the wins without getting prideful or egotistical. The joy of living and doing life with Jesus daily keeps us grounded, no matter how high or how low our circumstances get. This has been a difficult journey for me to stay on, but it has gotten stronger as each day goes on and each circumstance happens. When something significant happens to me, good or bad, I’ve stopped and asked God: “How are you using this in my life?” When I was fired from my job: “God, how will you use this?” When I struggled with relationships: “God, how will you use this?” It’s good to stop and reflect on that for your stories because God will show you that answer when you ask that question. It won’t be on your time, but his. Yet, you can use those answers to help someone else and share your testimony with those struggling to ask the same questions.

We are called to love each other as Jesus loved us, and Jesus’ love for us was so grand that he gave his life for us. Now, we may never be put in a situation where we’d have to die for someone. We will be put in spots to make sacrifices for one another. It could be lending/giving money, lending/giving resources, giving of your time, among other ways to care for one another. As I write this, I just went through something similar to this. There was a gentleman who came to my place of work asking for money. The first time, he asked for $10 to get an ID for work. I obliged. The second time, he asked for $20 to get work boots for his new job. I obliged. The third time, he asked for $30 to get his paycheck early and needed transportation. I obliged. This is when my radar kicked in. I was giving because the Spirit kept saying to do so. Even after the second round of this, I was like: “God, are you sure? I don’t know if he’s telling the truth.” Yet, God kept saying give. I gave until I couldn’t. When he returned around the fourth time, asking for $40 to pay his hotel bill, I couldn’t. I didn’t have it on me. God is going to deal with his heart. I’m not here to judge, but I’m here to follow what God says to do. It was a sacrifice for me, but I used to share God’s love with him. I have to keep faith that he would share the love he received with those around him. I served in the way I was told to serve.

Because Jesus is our Lord, my Lord, he has the right to call us servants; instead, he calls us friends. It is comforting and reassuring that he chose us to bring the Kingdom of God down to earth and be his closest friends. Because Jesus is our Lord, we owe it to him to be undoubtedly obedient. Because Jesus is our friend, we should love him unconditionally, like he loves us. Jesus made the initial move in the relationship – to love and die for us and to invite us to live with him eternally. We make the next move: to accept or reject his offer. Think about this proposition with the words of John 13:34:

John 13:34

34          So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.

This concept was familiar to the Jewish audience.

Leviticus 19:18

18          “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.”

To love someone as much as Jesus loved someone was revolutionary to them. Loving your neighbor as yourself is entirely different from loving your neighbor as Jesus loved you. We don’t always healthily love ourselves, but Christ’s love for us is ever present and is always present. We are called to love others with the foundation of Jesus’ sacrificial love for us. Suppose we base our love for ourselves and others on that. In that case, it will bring unbelievers into faith in Jesus and keep believers united in a world hostile to God. When faced with Jesus’ teaching, do you think of people in your life who are hard to love or people you feel are unlovable? There are situations where I have had that. When I went through my sextortion case, some people treated me very rough because of being a part of that. I struggled with keeping my composure with them. Yet, Jesus taught us to love all, even those you might like or agree with. I have respect for almost all people because we are all human. We are flawed people who are often stuck in a sense of self-preservation, and I prayed that God’s justice would prevail overall. This kept my composure in check and allowed me to focus on the relationship I needed to deal with. This kind of love that Jesus wants us to show is humanely impossible. To have this kind of love, we must humble ourselves by realizing that Jesus died for us and our unlovely, embarrassing, public, and hidden sins. We need the Holy Spirit to pour out God’s love in our hearts so that we can love others.

I hope you enjoyed this series and have built a stronger connection to who Jesus is and the impact of what he did for our lives. Our next major series will examine the differences between guilt and shame and how the Bible explains it all. Until then, stay blessed.