December 16 – John 15:1-17
Jesus, our Savior King, we praise You for You are Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace!!!! We thank You for You secure our peace! We fall before You in worship and adoration. Draw near to us, Lord of all.
Jesus is my friend!!!!! He is my friend, it says so right in verse 14, and He showed me so by going to the cross and laying His life down for mine; He chose me (Verse 16). I can’t… While writing this I had to just stop. The weight of that knowledge was almost too great to bear. It should have been me. It was my debt to pay. And yet, He died for me. And He tells me I can be His friend, too. What?! How!? By doing as He commands me: to love others as He loves me.
Excuse me a minute while I bring a secular movie to the study (and it is not the only one I will mention throughout the study). There is a point. Do you know poor Rudolph, who is not picked to play reindeer games? Most of us have been there, right? Last to be picked, or even having to have the teacher force us onto a group after not even being chosen as the last to be chosen. You know what I mean? As kids this could be during a game of kickball, holding our breath excitedly to see who wants us. And then finding out no one does. Or as adults… watching people live lives together in friendship while we stand on the sidelines, lonely and friendless.
What an incredibly lonely and isolating place to be in. One that threatens to snuff out any hope one might have. Unloved, unseen, unwanted.
And yet!
Here, in verse 16, we find that THE God of the universe… HIS Son… He chose us! THE Jesus chose us! Not out of pity or duty or self-elation. But because He loves us. I mean, if the only friend I could have is Jesus, then I have it all! The Jesus who left His throne room, the Jesus who became a baby born to poor parents, to die a vicious and cruel death. That Jesus calls us His friend. And oh, what a friend He is!
If this is a Christmas season where you find yourself unloved, unseen, unwanted, unheard, unvalued…. Know you are exactly the opposite of that. The sinful people of this world do not define you, the Jesus who died for you does. He is your friend, He laid down His life for you, He removed you from the cross and put Himself there, and He calls You His own. And oh, wow, does He love you!! And while carrying this knowledge of hope… go shower love onto others who may be feeling as you once have.
My Verse: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13
My Response: My Jesus, my friend. Thank You for not picking me last. Thank you for calling my name, for wanting me on Your ‘team,’ and for showing me how it is to be loved. Bless me, Lord, with the ability to be able to love others in this same way. Give me the energy to love others as You have commanded me.
What’s next?
As the Spirit leads, share what He has laid on your heart in the comment section below. Then
join us again tomorrow for the next commentary.
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Sharon’s Morning Thoughts: Oh Melissa. This: “I mean, if the only friend I could have is Jesus, then I have it all!” This is going to have me shaking my head in wonder and grinning all day long. Yes!
My verse: John 15:17 “This is my command: Love each other.”
My response: Could it be any clearer? If I want to remain in Your love – that beautiful, all-encompassing pure love – I need to stay close to You, abiding, remaining near. And when I am surrounded by You and Your love, inhaling it into my pores … then I’ll exhale it on my brothers and sisters in Christ. To hate them is not an option and to choose disdain and distance is to distance myself also from You. Help me obey. Help me to pour out love on my siblings in Christ. Your will is crystal clear. It doesn’t matter if they’re annoying or hurtful or not. Love. Yes, Lord! Love.
So, I misread the verses and stopped at verse 7, but that is so that God could draw my attention so that He could remind me that I need to remain in Christ to be effective. My verse is “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.’ John 15:5
Lord, continually draw my thoughts to you as I love out my days.
I did, too. I think maybe the sheet had a mistake on it. Then I looked at the weekly readings and realized I was supposed to read until verse 17. But sounds like God knew what He wanted to show you today. I love that.