Called to LOVE

John 15 :12

This is the rule that I give you:  You must Love each other in the same way that I have loved you. (EASY)

So, this is my command: Love each other deeply, as much as I have loved you. (TPT)

“This is My commandment, that you LOVE and unselfishly seek the best for one another, just as I have loved you. (AMP)

While reading this scripture and studying every translation, what I noticed is that every translation states that Jesus was not suggesting that we LOVE he was commanding that we LOVE. It made me think about when someone gives a command for something to be done. Commandments are either done out of choice or not done out of choice and typically the choice to not follow a command has some sort of consequence attached to it. LOVE is a commandment and a decision out of our free will and since it is a commandment, then to not LOVE is disobedience. The word says (Isaiah 1:19) “If you are willing and obedient you will eat the fruit of the land” The entire chapter of John 15 is about remaining(receiving) God’s LOVE & giving LOVE. Nowhere in that chapter does it mention that LOVE needs to be earned, not by us and neither should we be making the people around us earn it.  

It's a reminder that not only does Jesus love us like his Father loves him. When I make a decision to Love out of obedience in keeps me in a place of continuous Love with the Father (Abba Father). My decision equals obedience and through my obedience is guarantees the promises of God in my life! Obedience withholds no good thing.

Jesus when out of his way to stress the rule and or commandment so what that tells me is that the enemy is going to go out of his way to create opportunities for you fail in showing love and better yet create disappointment, so you never understand God’s love to the capacity that allows his love to touch his heart to create deep compassion for other around you.  Love is truly a decision, so I’m reminded to LOVE when I don’t feel like it, when I feel like that person doesn’t deserve it, when someone has rejected me, and Love when it’s hard! Love is a form of Love back to God. God is watching for how we are intentional about his commandments.

Prayer:

Abba Father, El Roi, El Elyon

Thank you for the faithful love you have shown me all my life. I repent for the times I have rejected love or decided not to love.  Father, thank you for continuing to help me know your Love in a way that creates a burning desire for me to love others more. Not just to Love more but to Love them in a way that can be received and is impactful to their life and leads them to you. I declare I can love like you called me to do! In Jesus Name – Amen.