The Big "If"

 ". . . We will come unto him and make Our abode with him. . ." (John 14:23b)

 God is so longsuffering with us, isn't He? What will it take for us to "get it”—the fact that He loves us? Why do we doubt His love or sometimes miss His activity in our lives? The Bible gives us a clue: Jesus said those who love Him have and keep His commandments. Those who love Him, the Father loves. Jesus said He loves those who love the Father and will show Himself to them (v. 21). The more we love God, we will recognize His activity.

With the cross looming before Him, Jesus reinforced truths He taught His disciples over their three years of ministry together. Time was running out—He would soon leave them. They needed to "get it" before He completed His mission.

When Jesus announced His departure, His disciples had questions. To Judas’ question, He said, "If a man loves Me, he will keep My words; and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him" (John 14:23), adding that people who don’t obey His words don’t love Him. Jesus said He spoke the Father’s words, not His (v. 24). How can we express to God our love for Him? By keeping His words, accepting the gift of Jesus. Jesus gave the disciples (and us) a new commandment to love one another just as He loved them (13:34). By showing this kind of love, the world would recognize them (and us) as His disciples.

A familiar song’s lyrics say that the world needs love. But rather than a "feeling" kind of love, this place God created needs genuine love, God’s love. Out of God’s great love, Jesus completed His mission on earth when He died on the cross for us and kept His word by taking up residence within each of us who said "Yes" to God’s offer of salvation. The promised Holy Spirit stays with each believer until we meet the Father face to face. That’s God’s, unconditional love. The thought for today is, where do you and I stand with the big “if?” We know the requirements.