"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...This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you" (John 15:10-13).
The Apostle John wrote more about love than any other writer of the Bible. It’s no wonder that he did for he was intimately acquainted with the love of Jesus. He wrote, "Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved." John was that disciple, whom Jesus loved. Love became the theme of His life because he was personally touched by the love of Jesus. In order for Christian to become a compelling and attractive example of who Christ is in our world, the love of Jesus must become the theme of our lives. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35). How do we demonstrate the love of Jesus before a watching world? Jesus said, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). It’s easy to love others when there something in it for me. Jesus said, “For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?” (Matthew 5:46). There’s nothing special about loving others who love us. There’s nothing compelling about doing good unto those who do good things for us. The true test of whether or not we know the “greater love” that Jesus spoke of is seen in our response to others when they disappoint us, hurt us or let us down? Are we quick to forgive others that have wronged us or do we harbor bitterness and resentment? Do we do good unto others expecting nothing in return? Does selfless acts of sacrificial love characterized our lives? John wrote, “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”(1 John 3:18). The love that we are to exemplify as Christians is not something that we manufacture in our own strength. Instead it’s produced by the Spirit of God as we pursue a closer relationship with Jesus Christ (Romans 5:5). “The world will not be changed by the overabundance of our information but by the outflow of our intimacy” (Daniel Henderson). May Jesus' love be the theme of our lives.
"he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully" (Jer. 23:28)
ReplyDeleteRe: John was that disciple, whom Jesus loved.
While those who want to promote the man-made John tradition will cite this-or-that non-Bible source when they are asked to defend claims such as this, the truth is that they cannot cite a single verse that would justify that statement. Got scripture?
In fact scripture itself actually proves that whoever the disciple whom Jesus loved was he cannot have been John, because that man-made tradition actually forces the Bible to contradict itself, which the truth cannot do.
Pr. 30:5-6 and many other verses warn against putting the authority of God’s word in subjection to non-Bible sources. But one has to take off their own shoes before they can take a walk in someone else’s moccasins, and similarly, when it comes to cases of The Bible vs. Tradition, one has to be willing to let go of the traditions of men in order be corrected by the truth that is demanded by the plain sight in the text of scripture.
TheFourthGospel.com has a free eBook that compares scripture with scripture in order to highlight the facts in scripture that are often overlooked about the “other disciple, whom Jesus loved”. If one is open to biblical correction on this topic, then they can weigh the testimony of scripture that it cites regarding the one whom “Jesus loved” and may find it to be helpful as it encourages bible students to take seriously the admonition “prove all things”.
A comparison to the first three gospels readily shows that the least helpful of the four gospels when it comes to learning facts about the Apostle John and the things that he witnessed, said, and did during the ministry of Jesus, is the one that the traditions of men erroneously seek to pass of as 'John's eyewitness testimony'.
I'm surely opened to biblical correction, especially when it's shared in love for the purpose of building up the brother or sister who needs correcting. Thanks for sharing. "Rather,speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love." (Eph. 4:13-16).
ReplyDeleteThank you Pastor for sharing John's words of the amazing power of God's Love in us. Allowing God's supernatural unconditional love to be manifested in us towards others, truely results in a gift of joy given back to us as we choose to abide in Him. Thank you for this important reminder. and Thank you for showing this to our family personally in these last few days.
ReplyDelete