THURSDAY, FIFTH WEEK OF EASTER
Acts 15: 7-21; Ps 96: 1-3, 10; Jn 15: 9-11
EXPERIENCING THE FATHER’S LOVE
Jesus uses the analogy of a vine and its branches to explain the difference between those who merely “appear” to be Christians, compared to those who are truly united to the True Vine. Those “branches” which don’t bear fruit are cut off and burnt. Their barrenness proves they were never attached to the life-giving sap of the vine in the first place. Part of that analogy is Jesus referring to those who “abide in [Him],” and in whom His Word “abides.” Both of those facets are necessary to understand the meaning of abiding in Christ.
Jesus’ ministry centered on the will of God, the Father. True “life” requires a natural connection, but abundance requires cultivation. Jesus passes the love of God the Father to us, and we ought to continue to transmit that love, as a branch transfers the life given to it from the vine. How we do this, is as Christ did, by obedience to the will of God. When Jesus says “abide in my love,” He does not only mean to rest securely in His love. He also wants us to actively participate in the love He gives to us, by obeying His teachings. The love that the Father has for the Son is a deep, abiding, immeasurable, and eternal love. It is a love that passes above the understanding of our limited human minds. It is a love that can never be comprehended by human understanding. And yet on the eve of His crucifixion, Jesus told His disciples that the love that He has for them is the same as the love that the Father has for His only begotten Son, and the Lord Jesus has that same depth of love for all of His children. He loves all who are called by His name with an everlasting love, for He told us: “As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you. Abide in My love.” We are loved by the Father, in Christ in an incomprehensible love.
Let us abide in Him and rest in His love so that we may bear fruit, more fruit, much fruit, to the praise and honour of our Father in heaven.
Response: Tell among all the peoples the wonders of the Lord.
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