InEssence

The serious disciple lives on a pilgrimage in their relationship with God. In the course of their journey they may travel down some paths leading to unanticipated dead ends. Some camp out in these cul-de-sacs, some turn around and resume their journey to fruitfulness.

These sincere disciples face specific snares. Those oriented towards ministry may be tempted in subtle ways. For instance, they may be tempted to view God as a means to get an anointed, successful ministry.

At times the genuine servant is delivered when the unseen motives of unmet ego needs are revealed by the Spirit. Sometimes that believer may reject this light, utilizing the Scriptures as a shield against conviction. “After all,” he rationalizes, “I know what I must do. There is a Great Commission, I can only accomplish this by God’s power. I must seek Him for power to get it done.” When actually, God wants us to seek Him with unadulterated devotion, find Him and walk with Him, not use Him as a means to a lesser end.

Another common detour occurs when serious disciples confuse their priorities. They make their main objective to be conformed to the image of Jesus. Although this is an admirable aspiration, our primary calling is to know Him. Instead, they find themselves enticed to exploit God and His word to accomplish this worthy goal. This is a self defeating determination. Our eyes are to be fixed on Jesus, not given to incessant introspection.

We are called to come to the place where we live primarily to “know Him.” As we get to know the Lord, we hear Him calling us to know His love.

In beginning a study of the love of God, a serious disciple might have some questions. The first question might be—where do I start? Or it could be: isn't attempting to know the love of God for myself just a waste of time? How important could this possibly be? I should be out doing things.

Is pursuing the knowledge of God’s love a distraction? Is this important or irrelevant? If it is important, why is it important?

While these questions are understandable, a more important--and relevant--question is: What does God want?

We can find out what He wants by considering what Jesus said. In John 15, we read that knowing God’s love is something God esteems as vital for us. Let us examine the text and then estimate its importance.

Jesus said to His disciples "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. [2] "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it, that it may bear more fruit. [3] "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. [4] "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. [5] "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in Him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing. [6] "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch, and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. [7] "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you. [8] "By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. (John 15:1-8)

Here is the context: Jesus is about to leave His disciples. He is urgently teaching them. He wants them to remember what He says. He wants to impart what was closest to His heart. Let us consider the soul of His message. What was His priority?

Messiah desired His disciples to remain in vital union with Himself. He was about to return to Father and wanted the apostles to prioritize keeping their relationship with Him alive. He wanted to maintain communion with them just as when He was physically present with them.

Messiah said, "… abide in Me…” five times in this section. If I had been there, I’d have asked, “So, You’re commanding me to ‘abide in’ You, but what does that mean, Lord? What is abiding like? How do I do that? Where do I start?”

Perhaps Jesus anticipated those questions, because in the next verse, He defined what abiding in Him is like. The key to abiding in Jesus is entrusted to us in John 15:9, "Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love."

“… (A)bide in My love…” is an imperative. But the command is also a clarification. The directive “…abide in My love,” is the further explanation of His decree, “…Abide in Me.”

As obedient disciples, we are called to abide in Him and the way towards abiding in Him is by abiding in His love for us. In remaining in Jesus’ love, we not only have the key to maintaining a relationship with Jesus, but we also get to experience the same type of love that Jesus received from the Father. To paraphrase, Jesus was saying, “Abide in Me through abiding in My love for you. My love for you is the same type of love I have been receiving from Father. Abide in My love.”

We are receiving this command from the Master Abider. Jesus dwelled in a conscious awareness of His Father’s love. This was such a vital part of His life that He wanted his disciples to do the same thing.

When you abide in Jesus, you get to know and understand Him. You get to know His character. We have learned of His character through the Scriptures: He is faithful, He is kind, He is just, He is trustworthy. Abiding in Him brings us into conscious contact with His character. But there’s more! The Lord, Himself, has a personality! Every believer should be convinced that since Jesus is a person He has a personality. But have we encountered it, or do we merely ‘take it by faith?’

To me, this is an incredible thing – how can we stop at getting to know His character and not press on to know Him so personally that we actually end up experiencing and knowing the God-Who-Has-A-Personality? In our experience of God, do we know the God-Who-Has-A-Personality? Or do we just know the God-Who-Has-A-Wonderful-Character?

Not only does God have a character and a personality, but He has plans. If you spend sufficient time with anybody, you get to know their character, their personality, and their dreams, desires and plans. You get to know their immediate focus and become familiar with their long term goals.

It’s almost as if He promised: “If you spend time with Me, you’re going to know my character, My personality, and you’re going to know My dreams, desires and plans. You’ll get to know what I’m focused on, where My attention is.”

Do you want to experience Jesus’ character, personality, and plans? “Abide in Me.” Do you want to see where He is directing His attention? “Abide in Me.” Do you want Him to point your attention in the same direction as He is currently focused? “Abide.”

Jesus has commanded us to abide in Him. He said that in order to abide in Him, we must abide in His love. It is therefore safe to conclude: experiencing the love Jesus has for us is very important.

This is the open secret that often escapes the serious seeker. This simplicity is an unexpected stumbling stone in the path of the earnest follower of Jesus. Many never expect that Jesus is commanding them to prioritize His love. His yoke is easy.