And The World Will Know You By How You Loved

John 15:12-17

English Standard Version (ESV)

12  “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13  Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15  No longer do I call you servants,[a] for the servant[b] does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

Jesus lays a lot out for us to follow in John 15. In the first eleven verses we learned what it means to abide in the father. We also learned how we produce good fruit. In order to abide in Him, we must remain in Him, which means we must be in constant relationship with God the Father. In John 15:12-17, Jesus tells us the importance of loving one another. We learn that Jesus has called us his friends and we are to love everyone as our brothers and sisters. Jesus explains to us the characteristics of how to love like Him.

From verse 12, we learn that we are commanded to love this kind of love. We are commanded to love one another as Christ has loved us. Jesus says, "...love one another as I have loved you." This is not easy to meet this standard of love. We are to love one another, which means everyone, as Christ loved us? We are to love unconditionally? That is a difficult task. We can only do this with the Holy Spirit working through us. Jesus goes on to tell us that there is no greater love than one who will lay his life down for his friend. This kind of love is a sacrificial love. We must be willing to lay down for our friends. And everyone should be our friends. Christ tells us that there is no greater love than this kind of love; it has to be pretty important.

Jesus tells us in verse 14 that we are his friends because we do what he has commanded us to do. The love within our relationships must be roots in this kind of friendship. He also tells us that this love will cause us to produce fruit that will abide in him. In verse 17, he closes with "love one another." This is such a loaded phrase and there is a lot to loving one another. But in short, Jesus is telling us that this love must go both ways. It must be a love that goes both ways.

In these verses, we learn that the world will know us by how we love each other. It is crucial that we put aside our foolish ways and love one another even when we seem unlovable. Love is the one the most important aspects of the gospel. True love like this is the distinguishing mark of a true Christian.