"This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."
John 15:12

I've mentioned this quote before but it's relevant to mention it again, "The Bible is so simple that we've had to have men help us misunderstand it!" Go into any Christian bookshop or online where you can buy Christian books, CDs or DVDs and it becomes clear that an industry has developed over the past 2000 years to service the Church and those in it. Now a lot of the material is very helpful but others of it less so. Today we read the most important command Jesus left us, that we love one another as He loved us. Not difficult to understand is it? We need to ask ourselves just one question, "How did Jesus love us?" Romans 5:8 says, "But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." (NLT) Jesus loved us unconditionally when we were unlovable.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

"These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full."
John 15:11

Whenever we see the word "joy" in the Bible it isn't a shorter way of writing "happy"! Do you remember the parable of the talents in which different sums of money were left in charge of three servants while their master was away? In Jesus' parable the two servants who pleased their master were told, "Enter into the joy of your Lord." Now the Greek word used for joy in that parable is the same as in today's reading. Some scholars believe that the word signifies the experience that comes from working in partnership with God. That makes a lot of sense because Paul points out that we can be joyful in adverse circumstances when we'd scarcely be happy! But how deeply satisfactory is the joy of knowing that we are in partnership with the Lord, doing what He wants us to do when He wants us to do it.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

"As the Father loved Me, I also have 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."
John 15:9 & 10

I love the way that The Message presents today's reading: "I've loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you'll remain intimately at home in my love. That's what I've done—kept my Father's commands and made myself at home in his love." It gets right to the core of what Jesus is saying; He came so that we could make ourselves at home with God rather than the world. The world offers glitz and glamour for some and tears and trials for others but even the best it can offer cannot last. Only God can offer a vibrant eternity where the best is yet to come. And, most wonderful of all, in heaven nobody will say, "Well it's been great seeing you but it's time for you to go home!" because we will be home.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples."
John 15:7 & 8

In those times when I miss it and lose my grip on my relationship with Jesus it inevitably ends up with me wondering how I could be so stupid! What is that would want to make me turn my back on the wonderful promise that Jesus gives us today? "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you." Jesus shows that lives lived in His promise are so rich that they glorify Father God as people see the fruit that we bear. The evil of sin is that it can make something worthless appear more important to us than being the embodiment of Jesus in our home, work and society. For those feeling dissatisfied with their life it simply means that they've let slip their relationship with Jesus; repentance will see it re-established.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned."
John 15:5 & 6

Jesus sees the success of our lives directly connected with our relationship with Him. As I look over my life I see my own experience reflects the times when I was close to Jesus and the times when I have faltered in my walk. Typically it is often easier to see the difference that not abiding in Christ makes in the lives of others. In such circumstances we rely solely upon our own resources and consequently can make very heavy weather of our lives. Relationships can become strained and we seem to lack the ability to stand firm in adversity. The reason for this is simple; we need all the help we can get from Jesus to live right in this world. When Jesus says, "…without Me you can do nothing." He means just that. We were not created to walk alone; we were created to walk with God.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

"You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me."
John 15:3 & 4

We're considering how Jesus sees us. If we consider our lives soberly we would probably come to the conclusion that we are not perfect. As the Prayer Book puts it "We have left undone those things we should have done and done those things we ought not to have done." If this has come as a shock to you I apologise - it was not my intention to ruin your day! The good news is that in spite of what we feel like, in spite of our faults and imperfections Jesus sees us as clean and pure. How can He do that? Jesus looks at us with the eye of faith, which is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Second Paul wrote that we're cleansed and sanctified: "with the washing of water by the word." Let's embrace what Jesus says and walk tall in Him.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit."
John 15:1 & 2

It's all too easy for Christians to adopt a world's view of life, death and the meaning of everything. One reason for reading the Bible and considering what it says is to discover God's view of us and the world we live in. In other words in reading the Bible we can discover how Jesus sees things. For example, today He makes it clear that He sees it as crucial that we become part of Him. This we can do as we become born again and accept God's gift of eternal life. However, Jesus also makes it clear that God expects to see growth in our lives. More than that, the unproductive are taken away and the fruitful are pruned. This may sound harsh but in any good garden unproductive fruit bushes become, literally, a waste of space and pruning is essential to keep fruitful bushes healthy.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.