By Timothy W. Burnett
In the rest of John 15 and first part of chapter 16, Jesus began to teach about love. He said, "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Continue in my love. If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in His love" (John 15:9-10). According to Galatians 5:22, one of the fruits of the spirit is love. This word love is translated from the earlier known Greek word agape that meant love that is shown from God to people. How did God show His love? The answer is found in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes on him shall not perish but have everlasting life." At the time of this teaching, Jesus Christ had not been killed yet. He was preparing them for what was to come in the future.
Jesus continued by saying, "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. 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. You are my friends if you do whatever I command you" (John 15:11-14). What did he command them to do? Love one another. It's so simple and easy to entreat. When he said to love as he loved, he wasn't calling them to give their lives by dying for mankind. That was his calling and purpose. Now we can lay down our lives by abiding in God's love through the name of Jesus Christ who is not dead, but alive in heaven. 1John 3:17-18 shines more light on love, "but who ever has this world's good, and sees his brother have a need, and shuts up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwells the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. The words "in deed and in truth" were likely a figure of speech that meant "truly in deed," or "in true deed."
We can say that we love until we are blue in the face, but unless we love truly in deed, then others cannot see God's love dwelling in us. This is not just about giving material goods to brothers and sisters in Christ who are in need, but it's about manifesting the power of God for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that others might be healed and delivered from what ever bondage they are in. Acts 3:3-9 is a record of God's love being showed. When Peter commanded the man to stand up and walk, he was demonstrating God's love. The man believed to reach out and grab Peter's right hand, lift himself up, and start walking. He humbly believed to receive God's love that was shown through Peter and John by the spirit of God in them.
The Gospels are filled with records of Jesus Christ showing God's compassionate love in truly spiritual deeds. The Acts are filled with God's saints showing God's love in the same manner. These records are great examples for us to learn from. We can show God's love also, and God is most gracious to help us grow spiritually to the point that we are demonstrating God's powerful and compassionate love by His spirit that is in us through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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