Another gift from Jesus: LOVE!

John 15:9-11

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my own joy may be in you and your joy be complete.’

Food for thought!

In this passage there is much about remaining in the love of Christ. What is meant by that? Let us take a human analogy, knowing that all analogies are imperfect. Suppose a person is weak. He falls easily to temptation; or he has made a mess of things; he is on the way down to degeneracy of mind and heart and mental fibre. Now suppose that he has a friend of a strong and lovely and loving nature, who counsels him, encourages him, strengthens him to resist temptation and helps him stay good. In order to keep the momentum and stay ok, the weak man must stay in company of the good man. If he loses that contact; all the chances are that his weakness will overcome him; the old temptations will rear their heads again; and he will fall. His salvation lies in continual contact with the strength of his friend.

Yes, there are people in whose company it is very difficult to stay good; and there are people in whose company it is easy to stay good and clean.
Jesus is saying, I am your good company; stay with me and you will stay clean and well: «If you keep my commandments you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.»

Jesus' secret of life was his constant contact with his Father; again and again he withdrew into a solitary place to talk to his Father. He was never too busy to be with his Father. We must do the same; we must keep constant contact with Jesus. We cannot do that unless we deliberately take steps to do it. To take but one example--to pray in the morning, if it be for only a few moments, is to have an antiseptic for the whole day; for we cannot come out of the presence of Christ to touch the evil things. Let's have a constant contact with Jesus. It will mean arranging life, arranging prayer, arranging silence in such a way that there is never a day when we give ourselves a chance to forget him.

By the way, this is the purpose of the daily «food for thought»; it is intended to help you jump start your contact with Jesus. I hope it helps you as it does with me.

"I have told you this so that my own joy may be in you and your joy be complete."