“This my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends.” John 15:12-13
It gets me that in the midst of
talking about abiding in Christ that he comes back to love. It all comes back
to the greatest commandment that we have been commanded to obey; to love one
another. Above every goal and dream I have, loving people well is what is most
important.
It is easy to get caught up in
getting what I want, when I want it. Working hard to get things to come to be,
without thought to the people right in front of my face. I do this more often than
not. It is what our world screams. Make it happen. Do more and get more. It
doesn’t matter who or what is harmed in the process as long as you get what you
believe you deserve and work hard to make happen. It is promoted loud and proud
and when something is loud, that is where my ear is going to go. It is where my
focus is going to tend to continually be directed.
Abiding in Christ is not meant to
just benefit our own growth and renewal by the Spirit, but to produce fruit in
our lives. Not for us to consume, but for the world to benefit from and see who
Jesus is for themselves. Love is more important than our dreams. It should in
fact be the root of our dreams, to love others more than ourselves. To lay
aside what we desire for what is best, to pursue what is beneficial for them,
and trust God more than we do ourselves.
Love, I think is the most
powerful thing we can ever experience, but it is also the most powerful thing
we can give away. To remain in Christ is to be in love. There is nothing that
can stop the love of Christ from flowing out from us and into the world around
us. But, loving the world and ourselves and accepting and abiding in love on a
daily basis is hard, especially when the world does not
Remaining Assignment #3: Take
your dreams the ones you have right now and look at them. Are they rooted in
personal gain or in love? Do they consider personal glorification or shining
the light on Christ? Journal it out and take it to Jesus, He will take anything
unloving and transform it. He will make something new.
- Hannah
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