Words from the Rock
You heard me say, “I am going away and I am coming back to you.” If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me, but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.
John 14:28–31 NIV
When Jesus tells us, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,” he is not trying to wax poetic. These words are a living by-product of his life. They are straight from his heart. Loving and obeying God is how Jesus lived on earth and why he died. His number one goal and purpose on earth was to be one with the Father and do his Father’s will. Jesus proved that he loved his Father with his entire being—heart and soul and mind—by the way he obeyed God. Jesus gave everything; he held back nothing.
So when Jesus tells his disciples that he is going to the Father, he wants them to be happy for him. He wants them to understand how much he loves his Father and how nothing could be better than joining him. But it’s not for his own sake that he wants his disciples to grasp this concept. It’s because this kind of love is exactly what he hopes all his followers will one day experience. Jesus’s desire is that we’ll love his Father as much as he does. He wants us to follow his example.
Jesus knows that the more you love God, the more you will do what he wants you to. The more you do what God wants you to, the happier you will be. Love motivates you to live differently, and Jesus wants that motivation to draw you closer to his Father. Jesus knows that being one with his Father will satisfy you like nothing else can.
My Prayer
Dear God,
Teach me to love you the way Jesus loves you. Show me ways I can spend time with you and honor you. Make me more like Jesus.
Amen.
Final Word
God showed his love for us when he sent his only Son into the world to give us life.
1 John 4:9 CEV
Stone for the Journey
My love for God changes who I am.