What Does it Mean to Love Like Jesus?

What Does It Mean to Love Like Jesus?

Welcome back friends! After that controversial, but critical post about politics, I’m excited to answer this question. It’s our second post based on a question submitted by my friend Shell Giermann! Thanks to Shell, a few weeks ago we covered, How Can I Witness About God When He Lets Innocent People Suffer?

Remember, if you also want to submit a question like Shell did, head over to our contact page. We love getting questions from you, our readers!

Enter Jesus

Let’s go right to the Son of Man Himself.

This is My commandment: that you love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this: that a man lay down his life for his friends.
-John 15:12-13 MEV

See, now that wasn’t hard to understand. Just lay down your life for your friends and you’re loving like Jesus. I guess I could just stop here, but perhaps Shell, and maybe you, already knew this verse.

 In case you’re interested, I busted out my new Bible commentary, a much-appreciated Christmas gift, and here’s what it said about John 15:13-14:

“The most a person can do for his friend is to die for him; such a death is a clear demonstration of love. Jesus demonstrated His love (v. 12b) by dying for His friends, those who obey Him. Abraham was called God’s ‘friend’ (2 Chron. 20:7, Isa. 41:8) because he obeyed God. Like close friends, Abraham and God communicated well with each other (cf. Gen. 18:17).”

There ya go. It says the same thing. Go ahead and die for your friends and you’re loving like Jesus.

But then again, perhaps we should fill in some context and flesh this out.

What Was Jesus Talking About?

A great article I learned about recently applies nicely here. The article, Never Read a Bible Verse, by Greg Koukl can help Jesus followers to understand the meaning of biblical passages more accurately. The gist of the article is simple (although I highly recommend reading the whole thing as the examples are very valuable), we should never read just a single Bible verse. We should, at minimum, read the entire paragraph. Why? Because the meaning can be completely lost or misrepresented if we fail to consider the context of the verse. Now, how does this apply to our question about loving like Jesus? Well, to really get the full meaning of the words of Jesus, we should look at the verses in John just before Jesus tells us about laying down our lives for our friends.

In John 15 Jesus begins by letting us know that He is the true Vine and that the Father is the gardener. Any branch that doesn’t bear fruit is cut off, while every branch that does bear fruit is pruned to bear even more fruit. He then tells us, “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me,” (John 15:4 NIV). He is the Vine; we are the branches, and we must remain in Him to bear fruit and not be thrown in the fire and burned. Without Jesus we can do nothing. And it glorifies the Father when we bear much fruit, it is in fact, proof of our discipleship.

After all this Jesus says:

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.  My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”
-John 15:9-12 NIV

Finally, the very next verse is the one about a love so strong that a person would lay down their life for their friends.

You may be thinking right now, “Why did Troy share all of this detail?” Here is the answer to that question. Loving like Jesus requires a How before a What.

A How Before a What? Wait, What?

Shell’s question was, “What does it mean to love like Jesus?” It’s a very important question, especially since Jesus showed us His love over and over, finally culminating in His death and resurrection. In addition, He commanded us to love like He loved.

But the problem is this, we cannot love like Jesus. We lack the capacity to show the completely selfless love that Jesus showed us. We are selfish, tired, hungry, jealous, weak people. So, what does it mean to love like Jesus? It means first having the power to love like Jesus did.

Let me ask a different question. How was Jesus able to love like Jesus? You know the answer. He was Jesus! Of course He could love like Jesus!! But now let’s return to the earlier verses…and why we need the context.

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.  My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”
-John 15:9-12 NIV (emphasis added).

 Jesus was able to love the way He did because of His relationship to the Father. He kept the commands of the Father and through His obedience remained in the Father’s love. How then do we acquire the capacity to love like Jesus? How? Let’s go back just a little further in the chapter.

“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
-John 15:4-5 NIV

The how to loving like Jesus is that we must remain in Him! Without remaining in Him we can do nothing. Yes, He commanded us to love one another. Yes, He called us friends. But, and don’t miss this, we are only His friends if we obey Him! And remaining in Him is the first step, before anything else, of obedience.

It’s not about us mustering up the strength to squelch our selfish tendencies so we can fake the love of Jesus by doing things He would do. It’s not about begrudgingly making ourselves do acts of kindness. NO!

We can only love like Jesus when it is Jesus who is the Source of the love, and He is the Source when we remain in Him.

What Does it Mean to Love Like Jesus, Really?

Here is the answer to the question. And it may not be what you expected when you first saw the question. We love like Jesus when we are constantly filled with the love of Jesus.

I could give you a list of things you can do that from the outside look like the way Jesus loves. It would be easy to put together a nice set of bullet points. But I won’t…because you probably already know them all. Let’s not kid around here. You know exactly what people who love like Jesus do. How do you know?

Because, if you’ve been a sincere Jesus follower more than a couple of years you’ve seen many biblical examples of loving like Jesus. You’ve heard stories from pastors, missionaries, in Christian books, videos, and on podcasts. You already know what people who love like Jesus do. And you know what else? If you’re a sincere Jesus follower, you really should do those things too. You show your love by your actions, not just your words.

But actually loving like Jesus? It’s never about what you should do. It’s about what you want to do. And that doesn’t come from your actions. It comes from your heart. Or, more correctly, it comes from the heart of Jesus inside of you. It comes from the fact that the Holy Spirit is living in you. It’s not only about what we do, Jesus follower, but also about why we do it. It’s about Who empowers and encourages us to love like Jesus. Truly loving like Jesus can only come from the Holy Spirit within us.

The Final Word

Oh, the intent of the original question may have been “What are the practical things we can DO to love like Jesus?” But we don’t need a list of things to do or not do. Not at all. What do we need? We need a divine Counselor.

You see, loving like Jesus isn’t loving like Jesus if it doesn’t start with us remaining in Him. Everything we do comes from the fact that He is the vine, and we are the branches.

What then, finally, does it mean to love like Jesus? It means hearing His voice as we move throughout or daily lives. And then it means doing what He leads us to do. As friends of Jesus, by virtue of doing what He commands, we remain in His love.

Yes, there are many practical actions to show that we love like Jesus. And we learn what they are from Him. Hear me Jesus follower. Don’t worry about whether doing “this thing” or “that thing” more of an example of “loving like Jesus.”

It’s very simple. When you feel any sort of inclination to encourage or serve another person in a godly way, and you obey it, that’s loving like Jesus. Don’t overthink the urges from the Holy Spirit. If you do you risk missing many opportunities to love like Jesus. But by obeying and loving, you glorify the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Love you all!

-Troy

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What is THE Secret to an Amazing Relationship with God?

What is THE Secret to an Amazing Relationship with God?

This question is one that many Christians are thinking, but not asking. Why aren’t they asking it? Fear? Lack of desire? Lack of belief? I assure you, after “How do I become a Jesus Follower?” this is the most important question for any person who wants to really obey Jesus and have a powerful impact for the Kingdom of God.

Oh, if you just want to coast in life as a Christian, then feel free to stop reading. But then again, doing so may be the path to Hell.

But, before we really get into the question, just a quick reminder that if you’d like to send in questions yourself and maybe get featured on a blog, click here for our Ever Nearer contact form.

First You Must Believe

It was about 35 years ago in a small country church. Now, I know that sounds like a cliché, but it’s true. The church was literally seven and a half miles outside of the nearest town, and that town had a population of fewer than 500 people. So yeah, a country church.

Through a set of circumstances only God could have coordinated, and a family who showed the love of Christ to a lost young man, that’s where I met Jesus. I was saved and on the way to Heaven.

My friends, I was on FIRE for God! He transformed my whole life, I followed Him to a new university, changed majors multiple times (not God’s fault 😊), and met my amazing bride. Life wasn’t always easy, but I was doing my best to be a good Jesus follower. Sometimes I failed. However, I believed in Jesus as my Savior.

But Then What?

From the day of my salvation until just a few short years ago something was missing. I was living a Christian life. I read my Bible fairly often, went to church very faithfully, loved my wife and children. I served on teams at church, my favorite girl and I led small groups and mentored engaged couples, we did all the things good American Christians do.

And yet…and yet, something was missing. Life was happening, we were growing older, the kids graduated and left the house, and I still desperately loved my wife, but I wasn’t happy. In fact, I was often miserable. Perhaps one day I’ll speak about the depths of that misery in a public forum like this, but that’s not the point of today’s post. Just know it was bad y’all. Really bad. Almost no one knew, I kept it to a very small number of people.

The truth is, I wasn’t enjoying the life that was promised to Jesus followers, the one Jesus Himself offered us.

“I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief enters only to steal, kill, and destroy. I came so that they could have life—indeed, so that they could live life to the fullest.”
-John 10:9-11 CEB

I had gone through the gate. I was saved. I was generally avoiding the schemes of the enemy. But living life to the fullest? No. Not really.

Where Most of Us Lost Our Way

Recently I heard a message that was directly applicable to this topic. It’s amazing how God always puts such things together. I am reminded of the following quote that is attributed to Albert Einstein:

“Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous.”

But you and I, we know there are no coincidences.

Back to the message. The focus was on peace, and I highly recommend checking it out. During the message, the pastor, Mike Burnette, made an observation. He mentioned that there was a specific place where the church often fails. It’s not intentional, and it’s not true of every church. Even in churches where it’s not true, the failure still often happens, and when that’s the case, it’s on us, the individual Jesus followers.

Let me paraphrase of what he said:

The peace from Jesus inside us is always growing IF we are growing in Him. In the life of the Jesus follower there are two major steps. 1) Surrender your life to Christ and 2) Orient your life around Him. The second one is where the church often fails.

I know why Jesus followers frequently don’t have an amazing relationship with God. And I know it because I literally lived it for decades. Pastor Mike summed it up perfectly.

Why We’re Always Miserable, Defeated, and Bored

Where was the joy of the Lord in my life? Why did I almost scoff when I read the words of Paul to “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” I wasn’t feeling it. Again, I was a born-again Christian, saved with eternity in Heaven ahead of me, but in this life? It was miserable at times.

So much of life was a struggle, I felt defeated, just getting through the days was a chore. I often complained about my daily work. One time I said to my lovely bride, “I just wish this week was over.” She poignantly replied, “I’m tired of wishing my life away.” She was right…but what was wrong with me?

When I discovered the secret to an amazing relationship with God, it became clear why I was miserable, defeated, and bored in my Christian walk. It was simple. So ridiculously simple.

Do you know what the problem wasn’t? It wasn’t that I was wrong about salvation. My salvation was assured. I was right in that I was missing something, and the Holy Spirit had been trying to tell me for a long time.

If You’re Not Where God Wants You to Be…

A year or so ago one of our previous pastors, Zac Alvis, made a statement in the middle of the message. I frankly don’t remember the big idea of the message, but I know the point God had in it for me. Zac said, “If you’re not where God wants you to be, you will be miserable.”

At that point I knew part of my problem. We were in the wrong place physically. We had been in the same community for over 20 years, we had attended the same church, then a plant of the same church, the entire time. There wasn’t an issue with the church, some people were really growing, but it wasn’t where the Lord intended for us to be any more.

However, the secret to an amazing relationship with God isn’t about changing states, cities, or churches. It’s truly not. I’ll tell you the secret now, and then flesh it out more. Here is the secret:

Orient your life around God.

That’s it. I told you it was simple. And you know the sad thing? For all those years I thought I had been orienting my life around God. I mean for real. Shall I go back over the list?

“I read my Bible fairly often, went to church very faithfully, loved my wife and children. I served on teams at church, my favorite girl and I led small groups and mentored engaged couples, we did all the things good American Christians do.”

Doesn’t that sound like a life oriented around God? Seriously. How much more God-focused could a person be? It turns out that the answer is, a lot.

Bringing Back the Joy

Do you know how the revival in my heart started?

I was about two years ago when I stopped reading the Bible and began studying the Bible and making daily posts on insights I was receiving from the Holy Spirit. It grew like wildfire when I radically changed my prayer life. It got more powerful when I stopped caring what people thought and went all in with God. It became highly focused on Him and His actual mission when I let go of stupid arguments.

Each of the links in that last paragraph gives away part of the secret to my transformation into a Jesus follower who has an amazing relationship with God. All of that began without changing locations.

Do you know what has caused a very recent, exponential growth in my joy in life? Listening to the words of Pastor Zac. “If you’re not where God wants you to be, you will be miserable.”

We left everyone in our immediate family. We moved six hours away. New state, new church, new type of home. Just me and my lovely bride…and the God of the universe. We didn’t know anyone here. It was a little like Abraham following God’s call.

Don’t get me wrong, we miss our kids, grandkids, and many friends. But we are loving the worship, the messages, the opportunities to serve, and the small groups at our new church. We love the weather, the state, and the people. Most of all, we love that by obeying God, we’ve regained His joy.

But It Wasn’t About the Move

Can I make one thing very clear? The secret to an amazing relationship with God isn’t about moving to a new place. It’s what Pastor Mike said.

Orient your life around God.

The joy wasn’t because of the move. The joy was in the obedience to the Lord. The joy was in falling in love with studying His word. The joy was in learning how to pray. The joy was in talking about Him with other people. The joy was in making every aspect of my life about Him, celebrating Him, writing about Him, listening for and to Him. Becoming one with Him.

Why was I miserable? Because I was working to be the kind of person I thought God wanted me to be. That’s not the way to have the joy of the Lord. Please hear me sister and pay attention to my words brother. God isn’t looking for you to work to become the best Christian you can be.

God wants you to be close to Him. He wants you to draw ever nearer. And how do you do that? By making your whole life focused on Him. By orienting your life around Him. By seeking first His Kingdom and His righteousness. And that elusive joy you seek? It’s something that He will ensure is added unto you when you orient your life around Him.

I love you Jesus follower!

-Troy

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