Read John 15:9-11 NIV
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
When my children were small, we looked for people to include in their lives who would be good examples of how to live life well. I still pray that God will put people in their lives to help them carve out a path that draws them closer to God. Really, I ask for people who look like Jesus – with skin on. That’s because we have no better example than Jesus. Jesus was the perfect example of what it looks like to live in true community with God. He was full of grace and truth, and joy because of it. God’s unparalleled love and complete joy is ours too when we choose to live connected to God in all that we do and say. AND it’s not a mystery how to get that joy…His word says that remaining in him – following him – and choosing to live as he would have us live is the secret!
Spend today asking God to help you remain in him; to help keep him as the focus of your heart and mind, so that every day you grow closer to him and are able to really live in the joy of his love.
