DISCOVERING THE KEY TO KNOWING AND PLEASING GOD

BIBLE PASSAGE:
“By this all men will know that you are My disciples,
if you love one another.”
(John 13:35)

MEDITATION:
“Disciple” is defined as, “A follower or student of a teacher or leader”.
This is significant for those who claim to be Christians.
When we call ourselves “Christian”,
we are saying that we have become disciples (followers) of Christ.
As disciples, we have accepted the responsibility of ‘assisting in spreading the
Gospel’ that Jesus shared with others, when He walked the earth in human form.

If we aren’t making any efforts to follow His examples,
then how could we consider ourselves to be His followers?
Not only have we chosen to follow Him,
but we also understand and anticipate that He will teach us
what we need to know in order to be effective disciples of His.

His teachings give us instructions of how to live our lives in a manner
that is pleasing to God, and which will clearly identify us as His disciples.
In John 13:35, He says that others “will know”
that we are His disciples when we “love each other”.
Many ‘religions’ have rituals and guidelines,
but God simply asks the followers of Christ to love others.
When love is our motivation, we will learn to say and do what pleases the Lord.

Think for a moment about why loving each other is important.
When we are left to ourselves,
we can become lonely and find it difficult to enjoy anything.
Part of the enjoyment of life is having someone with which to share our joys.
We have a need for the assurance of companionship;
we were created to love and to be loved.

God said in the beginning, “It is not good for the man to be alone.
I will make a helper suitable for him.” (Genesis 2:18).
The creation of Eve was the beginning of human companionship.
God’s people are a body, not intended to function separately,
and not intended to be unconcerned for one another.

The only true body in the world is the Church.
The world may talk favorably about the value of brotherhood,
but in reality its philosophy is “every man for himself”.
Jesus is going one way and the world is going in the opposite direction.
And, as His disciples, we should be going in the same direction as Him.

Jesus loves God’s creations and He loves God.
If we expect to love God, then we need to love Jesus and everything He loves.
We should love Jesus because He loves us and died for our sins.
We should love others, because they (like us) are created by God.
How could we love God, if we fail to love His creations?

Only God can supply the love that we must have in order to love others.
He is the source of the love which flows through Jesus to us.
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:8)
Notice how the scriptures connect love to knowing God?
Isn’t that what we all want, to know God and to ‘feel’ His love for us?

ACTION:
Do you want to know God?
It all starts with love for His Son and His creations.
Have been incorporating the ‘things of Jesus’ (including love) into your life?
If you are a true follower (disciple) of Christ, then the answer should be, “Yes”.

Start practicing love for others today;
do loving things for others without expecting anything in return.
Jesus showed love to mankind by sacrificing His life;
what sacrifices have you made to show love to others?
Remember we love others so we will be blessed by God,
and not for the approval of man (even though it would be nice at times).

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for creating me and for loving me. Forgive
me if I have failed to love others whom You have created, in the way I
should. Thank You for your promise that when I become more loving,
I will know You better. Thank You, Jesus, for the way You have shown
me how to love others, including those who do not love me. Help me in
my efforts to think and act in a manner similar to You, so that I will be
more pleasing to our Heavenly Father.”

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