Poured Out

Jesus said, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.” John 15:9–14 ESV

The apostle John’s account of the good news of Jesus is my favorite of the four Gospels. I love words and so I appreciate how John communicates the most profound truths known to man in ways that even through translation into English retain their poetic flayer. In the 15th chapter of his Gospel, John captures the organic and healing words of Jesus. We his disciples are braches, planted and nourished in the vine of Jesus, planted and nourished in the vine of the Father. Our charge, our invitation: abide, rest, and be fed by the love, which flows into us as we are as we are rooted in Jesus.

We are told by Jesus to love as he loved. He instructs us in Matthew’s gospel to love our enemies. These are not mere nice sounding platitudes, but commands, commands that are not possible for us to do – unless we are rooted in and abiding in the love of Jesus. Our INWARD journey is not just a nice diversion for a season before we move onto the important – more measurable – tasks. Rather, our INWARD journey is the only way that we can ever hope to love as Jesus loved, ever hope to realize the abundance of a life infused with transcendent joy. “We love, because he first loved us.” (I John 4:19)

As we end our seven-week INWARD small group emphasis, what practices are you putting into place to ensure that you create and maintain the space and the time to abide in Jesus? This is a very important question for each of us to answer and put into practice – the freedom of INWARD contentment and OUTWARD impact awaits! Share your thoughts and your plan with me and with others.

Peace, hope and love

Doug