As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.
– John 15:9
Is that not a great command? Jesus saying, “Just remain in my love. See how much I love you, and just soak it in and stay there.” Yes, God help us to live in this command. And just think about what Jesus is saying, “As the Father has loved me.” How much does God the Father love God the Son? A lot, infinite love, and Jesus says, “That’s how I have loved you, with an infinite love, with a supernatural love.” And Jesus says, “Abide in my love. Just remain in my love for you.”
John 15:9 explicitly teaches us to remain in God’s love.
I just think about so much of the Christian life as a fight to believe God loves you. When we’re tempted to sin, just think about it. We’re tempted to think we know better than God, that God doesn’t want what is best for us. That’s the first sin in the world in Genesis 3. They didn’t trust the love of God for them. They thought God’s keeping us from something, and so they turned aside from God to themselves. If they had just remained in God’s love, they would’ve walked according to his Word. Or when we walk through trials and we start to wonder where is God, why is this happening, and we start to not trust in God, Jesus says, “Remain in my love. I love you so much. You can trust me. I’m all wise, all powerful, all good, all loving. Abide in my love.
When we think about the gospel, God so loved the world so much. John 3:16 says that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish, will not die but have eternal life. That’s love. That’s incredible, supernatural, infinite love. So remain in his love today, just soak in his love for you all day long today.
John 15:9 calls us to a relationship with the Lord.
God, we want to obey this command. We want to obey all your commands because we trust your commands are good for us, that they’re an expression of your love for us. So we pray, help us to obey all your commands and, specifically, to obey this one, to abide in your love for us, to remain in your love, to walk today, oh God, in love relationship with you, to trust your love.
When we are tempted to sin in any way, God, please help us to trust in your love, to remember your love, to cling to your love, to abide in it, and turn from sin. God, amidst challenges we’re walking through and trials or tribulation, sickness, struggle, God, we pray that we would abide in your love, that we would know in a fresh way today how much you love us, so we would trust in your love for us, and, oh God, in all this that you would draw us into deeper love relationship with you today.
Jesus, we praise you for your love for us, and we say we want to live in it. We want to soak in it. We want to spend our lives abiding in your love just as you have told us to do.
Prayer for the Jewish People
And God, we pray for the spread of your love to all the peoples of the world. And especially on this day, we pray for Jewish men, women, and children around the world who don’t know, haven’t received the love of Jesus, the Messiah.
God, we pray that you would draw Jewish men, women, and children to faith in Jesus as the Christ today… That they might experience your love, Lord Jesus… That they might remain in your love, walk in your love, now and forever. Oh God, we praise you for so loving us that you gave your Son, that whoever believes in him will never perish but have eternal life. All glory be to your name for loving us like this. Help us to abide in your love all day long today. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder and Chairman of Radical, an organization that helps people follow Jesus and make him known in their neighborhood and all nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, and Don’t Hold Back.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
