PODCAST
The Fruit Of Christlike Love
April 20th, 2012
RG AUDIO 042012John 15:9-17
To be fruitful is to be Christlike. And to be Christlike means to love as Christ loved. The disciples’ love for one another must be patterned after Christ’s love for them. There is no greater love, Jesus says, than laying down one’s life for one’s friends, as Jesus himself was about to do through his crucifixion.
To begin with, the disciples must love one another as friends. Like Jesus, they must be willing to lay down their lives for one another. But it cannot stop there. Just as Jesus made friends with the friendless, the unfriendly, and even the enemy, so must the disciples.
This kind of love does not happen naturally. Therefore, it is a commandment that must be kept. Obedience does not mean a master-slave relationship. Jesus tells his disciples that they are his friends, not his slaves. Friendship with Jesus means that we willingly, eagerly, and joyfully do everything he commands.
