Read John 15:9-17
Wow! There’s Joy In Learning To Love Others!
Jesus says, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Now remain in my love.” There is nothing greater than God’s love. Therefore, there is nothing greater than the love of Jesus because he is loving us with the same love he received from his Father. We know that the love of Jesus is great because he even laid down his life for us.
So how did Jesus say we remain in his love? By keeping God’s commands and his greatest command is to love others. When we are obedient in keeping his commands what comes to us? Jesus said that we receive the joy of the Lord and this Joy is made full as we learn to keep God’s commands.
Are you lacking joy in your life? Get connected to God through his word. Learn to love others as Jesus loved us. Follow his example which means you are even willing to lay down your life for others. We need to learn to love others in how we treat them, help them, encourage them, how we meet their needs, sacrifice our time for them, walk with them through their pain and suffering, during their loss, and through their brokenness. And if our hearts are in the right place, Joy comes when we invest into the lives of others.
I used to burn wood for heating my house and our water. I would get wood, cut it, split it, and stack it. A lot went into it and when I was done I felt good inside because of what was accomplished. When I saw the pile of wood 7 ft High, 8 ft wide, and 25 ft long, I thought of all the hard work I put into it and it made me feel good inside. It was a huge accomplishment and it put joy in my heart and I found myself praising God with great joy.
When you learn to love others with God’s love, you feel good inside. You think of the accomplishments that come with it and joy fills your heart and you find yourself bearing good fruit that’s greater than a 7 ft x 8 ft x 25 ft pile of wood. This fruit will impact lives for eternity, and that brings Joy to my heart. Love God. Love others. Bear fruit. Have joy.
