John 15: 17
This I command you, that you love one another.
I may have mistyped today’s verse. Shouldn’t that read, “I encourage you to love one another” or “I suggest you love one another?” And yet, I looked it up in a bunch of translations and all of them say “command.” What happened to the gentle, kind Jesus or is it that we sometimes forget he is Lord?
Good things flow to us when we obey the Lord and he always has our best interests at heart. However, it seems to me that his giving us a command ought to be reason enough to do it. Where does reasoning fit in? Is there any room to question this directive?
Jesus is our big brother and our best friend. That does not negate his lordship though and I think we sometimes forget that he is Lord and king. We have been given a high status in the kingdom of God and we praise God for that but it would not hurt us to revisit Jesus as Lord. We worship him but lordship also demands obedience. Every word out of Jesus’ mouth is to be obeyed. I can tell you that his words are life and that it serves you well to obey him for that reason but I do not wish for us to lose sight of Jesus as Lord and master.
Every knee will bow before the Lord Jesus. He is to be lifted up. Yes, talk to him as your big brother. Giggle with him as your best friend but also praise him, worship him and above all obey him because he is Lord and because he is worthy. He takes his responsibility seriously and we are wise to remember that we owe him service and obedience.
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