When God’s love changes you
“I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began! “O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them.” John 17:22-26 It is beyond comprehension that a person would claim that he or she is close to God and yet be not affected by His love. If you claim that the love of God lives in you then it should show in the way you relate to others. From the text, we see a demonstration of the heavenly Father’s eternal love to His Son. Everything in the heart and life of the Father was released to His Son. The Father had shown His love for a broken and sinful world through the life of His Son. The Father initiated His plan to save mankind, and out of a heart of devotion, the Son humbly submitted to the Father’s will that took Him to the cross. As Jesus walked among people, the Father’s love filled His Son. Jesus recognized that even he expressed some apprehension at first to the idea that He will suffer and die for the forgiveness of sin; still it was the love of the Father that motivated Him to go to proceed. “He fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). Only His Father’s love was powerful enough to compel Him to commit His life to the saving purpose of His Father. And Jesus prayed that God would place this same love in His disciples. He knew that no other motivation would be sufficient for the calling that God had for them. God’s answer was to send His Son so He could be with them. That is why it is difficult for a person that claims to be a Christian to be filled with this measure of love and not to be on mission with God. You will be inadequate to serve and minister to others unless you have His love. You cannot forgive others or go the extra mile for others to sacrifice unless you have first been filled with the boundless love of God. Seek to know the Father and His immeasurable love, then allow His Son to love others through you.
Blessings
