Scarcity or Abundance?
The key to living an abundant life as a believer in Christ is found in John 15. It is a rich passage full of wisdom on how to live above mediocrity and frustration. The first basic truth to grasp is that apart from Jesus I can do nothing! That means that everything I attempt in my own strength has no lasting value. That doesn't mean that Jesus loves me any less when I live in my own strength. Even if I block our fellowship by rushing through in my own strength and choosing my own way, He still loves me. That means His love is not dependent on my performance, my ability, or my accomplishments. In fact, John 15:9 says Jesus loves me like God loves Jesus.
Let that soak in...Jesus loves his children as much as the Father loves Him! We should stand in awe that we are loved like that. This passage gives us the key to resting in that kind of love. We are told to abide, dwell and bask in God's love. We do this by obeying and completely surrendering to His Word and His Way. Complete joy comes in surrendered abandoned obedience. I stretch my arms out wide to heaven and say, "I want all your love, all your commands, all your joy Lord!" I am not holding anything back from the Lord in fear or selfishness. I am not afraid of being a living sacrifice surrendering to all His commands and obeying by faith.
At this point, I can take in John 15:12, "Love each other as I have loved you." I have no ability to love like Jesus until I am filled up with that love. When I remember that Jesus laid down His life for me, I can love. When I remember the cross and the personal connection that salvation brought to me, I can love. When I read scripture and am reminded of how he loved lepers, prostitutes, bleeding women, blind guides, possessed people, hateful mockers, and so many others, I can love.
Not only does Jesus supply the love, John 15:15 tells us that Jesus holds nothing back in teaching us what the Father has shown Him. His Word has all the answers to life and Godliness (II Peter 1:3-8). His Word is living and active and not a dead book of words (Hebrews 4:12). His Word keeps us from sin (Ps. 119:9-11). We are in error because we don't know His Word (Mark 12:24). We should be like the Bereans and examine the Scriptures daily to see if what we are taking into our lives lines up with His Word (Acts 17:11).
Jesus also supplies the calling. He chose me and appointed me to go bear fruit. He did not choose me to just take me to Heaven, make me a preacher's wife, make me a godly mother/grandmother, or to teach. He chose me to bear fruit that will last. That is my calling every day. Lasting fruit comes from deep abiding in Him. I rest and dwell in His love and as a result, I pour our His unmanipulated, unpolluted, uninhibited love on others. It is first about abiding/being rather than striving/doing. After all, Jesus ended this passage on abiding/dwelling with this, "This is my command: Love each other."
In closing, meditate on His great love. Read I Cor. 13 and personalize it by saying out loud Jesus' name everywhere you see the word love. That is how Jesus loves us. Live in it and love others through it!
Let that soak in...Jesus loves his children as much as the Father loves Him! We should stand in awe that we are loved like that. This passage gives us the key to resting in that kind of love. We are told to abide, dwell and bask in God's love. We do this by obeying and completely surrendering to His Word and His Way. Complete joy comes in surrendered abandoned obedience. I stretch my arms out wide to heaven and say, "I want all your love, all your commands, all your joy Lord!" I am not holding anything back from the Lord in fear or selfishness. I am not afraid of being a living sacrifice surrendering to all His commands and obeying by faith.
At this point, I can take in John 15:12, "Love each other as I have loved you." I have no ability to love like Jesus until I am filled up with that love. When I remember that Jesus laid down His life for me, I can love. When I remember the cross and the personal connection that salvation brought to me, I can love. When I read scripture and am reminded of how he loved lepers, prostitutes, bleeding women, blind guides, possessed people, hateful mockers, and so many others, I can love.
Not only does Jesus supply the love, John 15:15 tells us that Jesus holds nothing back in teaching us what the Father has shown Him. His Word has all the answers to life and Godliness (II Peter 1:3-8). His Word is living and active and not a dead book of words (Hebrews 4:12). His Word keeps us from sin (Ps. 119:9-11). We are in error because we don't know His Word (Mark 12:24). We should be like the Bereans and examine the Scriptures daily to see if what we are taking into our lives lines up with His Word (Acts 17:11).
Jesus also supplies the calling. He chose me and appointed me to go bear fruit. He did not choose me to just take me to Heaven, make me a preacher's wife, make me a godly mother/grandmother, or to teach. He chose me to bear fruit that will last. That is my calling every day. Lasting fruit comes from deep abiding in Him. I rest and dwell in His love and as a result, I pour our His unmanipulated, unpolluted, uninhibited love on others. It is first about abiding/being rather than striving/doing. After all, Jesus ended this passage on abiding/dwelling with this, "This is my command: Love each other."
In closing, meditate on His great love. Read I Cor. 13 and personalize it by saying out loud Jesus' name everywhere you see the word love. That is how Jesus loves us. Live in it and love others through it!
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