John 15:9 —9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.
Stop and think deeply about what Jesus is saying to us right here. The Father and Son have existed eternally with perfect love for each other. There were never any ulterior motives, never any selfishness or self-seeking in their relationship with each other. There was never any hurt or misunderstanding as we can have with each other. Nor were there ever any conditions or limits to their love; just perfect and limitless love. Unlike us who deserve rejection and separation, they both deserve this kind of love from each other. But Jesus does and say something amazing here that we should not take lightly. As the Father has loved Jesus, so has Jesus loved us. He then doesn’t tell us to earn it or be worthy of it but to just remain in it. He goes on further to say that a visible expression of us remaining in His love is that we obey His commands and that we love one another. Not just to love one another in our imperfect and selfish love, but as He has loved us. That perfect and selfless love that He has for the Father and the Father for Him. This is how we are to abide in His love. Seems impossible right? That’s because it is impossible…apart from abiding in Christ. Apart from seeking Him as our delight, joy, rest, comfort, and Lord each moment of the day we can’t come close to loving each other as He has called us to do. A perfect love like the Father loves the Son. Something to think about…
How do I love people? Is it the way I define, the way they define, or the way Jesus defines?