To Know the Love of Jesus

This past year, as I was memorizing John 15 for Bible Study, I was completely blown away and humbled when I got to verse 9:

“Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; Abide in My Love.”

To be loved by Jesus Christ with the exact same love that the Father loves the Son!!! How can one encounter this love and remain unchanged? Which made me then wonder--what does it look like to be loved with such a love! What does that even mean? My prayer for each one of you, and for me, is Ephesians 3:17-19 (NLT):

I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

I pray that you and I might know (believe and experience) the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge. I don’t think, in our earthly minds, we’ll ever fully comprehend it, but I do think we can grow in our understanding of it. And we certainly must endeavor to try, don’t you think?

Jesus, God in flesh, represents God's affection for us. God's love need not be an abstract concept, but a personal truth we can actually see embodied in Jesus's earthly ministry, death, and resurrection. More than anything, I want each one of you to personally know that Jesus Christ knows you deeper and loves you greater than you can ever comprehend. In John 14-17, we get a very clear picture in how Jesus loves. Here is a little summary of some of the practical ways Jesus shows His love.

1. Jesus paid for you. He loved you even when you hated Him. (John 3:16, Rom 5:8) And how did He love you? He paid for you. Each one of you owes God a huge debt--life. You owe God life (Rom 6:23) because you have sinned (Rom 3:23). And you will pay--either through your death, which because you aren’t perfect, will result in an eternity separated from God in hell, or you can accept Christ’s payment for you--the perfect payment. He willingly allowed people to torture Him and suffered the wrath and separation from His Father because He (and His Father) love you so much! Christ has paid for you completely!

These next four points are only for those who have accepted Jesus’ payment. Let’s take a look at how Jesus deeply loves His own.

2. Jesus prepares for you. "In my Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also." (John 14:2-3) Who is preparing a house? Jesus. Where? With Him and His Father. For whom? For those He has chosen--for you! Right now, Jesus is preparing a special house and home for you in Heaven! He, Himself, is getting it ready! This means that Jesus is personally invested in your future. He is anticipating the day when you will be with Him!

3. Jesus prays for you. Did you know that? Hear what Jesus prays: "Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world." (John 17: 24) He wants to spend eternity with you! Did you catch that? Jesus' desire is for you to be with Him and His Father. Why? So that you may fully and perfectly see Jesus in all His glory! Is it loving to pray for someone? Absolutely! If you're anything like me, you tend to pray the most for the people for whom you care the most. And guess what? Jesus prays for us--He wants us to be with Him. A believer's death is Jesus' desire and prayer finally fulfilled.

4. Jesus protects you. "I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one." (John 17:15) Protecting is loving and loving is protecting. Though you remain in a world that is not your home, a world that is hostile toward Jesus and His Father, Jesus protects you! Not even death will separate you from the love of God (Romans 8:31-39). Jesus makes that promise when He says to His disciples, "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world." (John 16:33) If you are in Christ, you will always and forever be protected. Can't you just imagine the scene? The last supper in the upper room. Jesus with His closest companions, who have no idea the events that are about to unfold--how they will fail, feel abandoned, and grieve. Jesus leaning in, looking each one of them in the eye as He, on the eve of His greatest agony, encourages His disciples with, "Take heart, I have overcome the world!" Oh, what a promise!

5. Jesus preserves you. "I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled." (John 17:11-13) What great comfort! If Jesus has chosen you, He will preserve you. The more you love something, the more you want to keep it and the greater care you take to ensure nothing will cause damage or harm to it, right? Likewise, you can tell the extent of someone's love for an individual by how they watch over, guard, provide and care for that person.

So what? How does knowing that Jesus personally paid for you, personally prepares for you, personally prays for you, personally protects you, and personally preserves you, change your heart and thinking? What does it look like to live in light of these truths. How do these verses affect your life today? Tomorrow?

For me, these verses have led to great comfort and hope in days of uncertainty and weeks of trial. I have often heard my dad say, "To know God, is to worship God." Studying John the past two years in Bible Study has challenged my understanding of Jesus' love for me and forced me to greater internalization of what it means to be loved by my Savior, the Shepherd of my Soul. In effect, learning these truths has led me into greater worship for Jesus.

I stand amazed in the presence

Of Jesus the Nazarene
And wonder how He could love me
A sinner, condemned, unclean

Singing, how marvelous! how wonderful!

And my song shall ever be
How marvelous and how wonderful!
Is my Savior's love for me!