Jesus is Essential
John 14:22–24: Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?” Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.
Note the repetition of the word love. If we treasure His Word and obey it, then the Father and the Son will share Their love with us and make Their home in us. The word translated “abode” means “make our home” and is related to “mansions.” When the sinner trusts Christ, he is born again and the Spirit immediately enters his body and bears witness that he is a child of God.
The Spirit is resident and will not depart. But as the believer yields to the Father, loves the Word, prays, and obeys, there is a deeper relationship with the Father, Son, and Spirit. Salvation means we are going to heaven, but submission means that heaven comes to us! 1
Walking with Jesus
We know how it feels when someone we love and have sacrificed greatly for, decides to reject us and act us if they never really knew us. How do you think God feels when we ignore His commands to love? God, please forgive us for rejecting Your sacrificial love in order to be selfish and self-serving.
For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones. Isaiah 57:15
We love God when we love to obey the Word of God with intentional love.
Praying
Lord, thank You for opening my mind, my heart, and my will to love You and to surrender to Your Lordship.
1. Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
