John 15:9. [Jesus said] “As the Father has loved me, so I
have loved you; abide in my love.”
Initially the passage seems simple and uplifting,
basically God loved his son and his son loves us, so we are instructed to dwell
in that love. This commandment does not even appear challenging; rather it
simply states that there is love available for us to enjoy. Who wouldn’t want
part of this deal? We all want to be loved, so this is a no-brainer! Upon
taking a second read of this passage, I see a call for sharing this love, the
love we have been so generously gifted with comes into play. We need to share
it with others, and are commanded to do so. This ultimately is a win-win
because in sharing the love our true-selves can reach their maximum happiness
potential, and we feel great joy. If we only seek the love of Christ in times
of sadness and need we have missed the mark. God wants us to seek him out at
all times and we will not only find strength in this love for ourselves, but
can also play-it-forward for a broken world that needs as much love as it can
get. My final thought is that when we are in fact hurting, which happens to all
of us, God stands by us, and the strength to go on with the daily grind often
comes from the smallest gestures from random people that cross your path. May
this Lenten season inspire us all to abide in that love and share it!
—Erica Lemcke
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