The Cycle of Love // John 14:21

Do you have Jesus’ commands? Jesus issued His command in the previous chapter when He said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” Jesus’ close friend, John, wrote that when we accept Jesus, His Word lives within us to make us strong and help us overcome evil (1 John 2:14). John also wrote that we are able to love because God loved us first (1 John 4:19). It is in that love that God sent Jesus in the first place to lead us, redeem us, and restore us for ministry in God’s holy reign (John 3:16). So with this we see the Lord’s cycle of love — God loves us, awakens love within us, enabling us to receive the love of Jesus; we, then, are called to dedicate our lives in love to God by loving others. John made it clear how this should orient our lives toward God, “Every person who believes that Jesus is, in fact, the Messiah, is God-born. If we love the One who conceives the child, we’ll surely love the child who was conceived. The reality test on whether or not we love God’s children is this: Do we love God? Do we keep his commands? The proof that we love God comes when we keep his commandments and they are not at all troublesome” (1 John 5:1-3, MSG). I hope and pray this helps you experience the cycle of love from God, in Jesus, and for the world. Will you dedicate yourself to ensuring you keep your spot in the cycle of love? I pray so!