An Ocean of Love & Joy
I was stopped in my tracks when, as a relatively new Christian, I read these powerful words of Jesus:
“Just as the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you; abide in My love” (John 15:9).
Could it be true? Is Jesus saying here that JUST AS MUCH—as consistently, deeply, fully and completely—as the Father loves Him (I think that’s pretty much perfect love!), so Jesus loves us? And are we actually being invited to live in, settle down, and make our home in that same committed care?
I had to look up the words in my Greek NT to be sure I was reading this scripture correctly:
“Just as (kathos: exactly the same, in proportion to) the Father has loved Me,
so have I (Jesus) loved you;
abide (meno: live, remain, continue, stay, settle down, dwell, be at home) in My love.”
Something shifted inside me the day this truth captured my heart!
See, this kind of love is foreign in a world where love is mostly doled out according to our performance and the quality, beauty, and worth of its object. God’s love, however, is not determined by the object, but by the quality, beauty, and worth of God Himself! He does not respond to our value; He creates it!
It’s hard to comprehend this love, and as Anders Nygren, former Bishop of Lund, explains: “God’s love defies reason. It is indeed ‘irrational.’”
As this “irrational” love began making its home in me, God’s joy started filling my heart…slowly, day by day. Meditating on this passage (and others like it) made me eager to share God’s declaration of radical, sacrificial, redeeming love with everyone, everywhere. Surely God’s offer would seize every heart as it had mine!
But instead I found many folks unmoved by the depth of God’s resplendent offer. As A.W. Tozer says in his book, Knowledge of the Holy:
“Thou hast declared Thine unchanging love for us in Christ Jesus. If nothing in us can win Thy love, nothing in the universe can prevent Thee from loving us. Thy love is uncaused & undeserved. Thou art Thyself the reason for the love wherewith we are loved. Help us to believe the intensity, the eternity of the love that has found us. Then love will cast out fear, & our troubled hearts will be at peace, trusting not in what we are but in what Thou hast declared Thyself to be.”
Selah! Pause, and think about that!
John 15 goes on to describe the next layer of how this love works:
“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love” (John 15:10).
At first this seemed like circular reasoning. If, in this relationship of surrender, we live so closely to the Father that we begin to sense His heart, hear His voice, and trust Him to lead the way like Jesus did, then we’ll continually experience a life of communion where two walk together as one. And it’s in this intimate partnership that God’s truth, integrity, redemption, direction, and JOY become ours:
“I have told you this so My JOY (chara: delight, rejoicing) may be in you, and that your JOY may be full (pleroo: complete)” (John 15:11).
Yes, this is the astounding promise of our good, noble, generous, wise, sovereign King. At the cross, we witness the Father’s heart mingle with the Son’s in a love-dance that summons us to bow—over and over again. Every day we encounter a Lover whose heart never wavers… even if ours does. And in the end, Tozer said it well: “Christian love is God Himself in the midst of His Church singing over His people; true Christian JOY is the heart’s harmonious response to the Lord’s song of love.”
REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
1. Set aside some unhurried time to read and reread what God declares about His love for YOU:
Exactly as the Father has loved Me (which is, by the way, perfect love)—so have I loved you … not because you’re unflawed, but because You’re Mine. Come… settle down and enjoy My consistent, unalterable love. I have given you My truthful words to show you how to live, and when you trust and follow Me, you’ll enjoy our union every day—no matter what. That’s how I live, listening to and following My Fathers will. And this fills Me with a joy that I want you to fully experience for yourself. (John 15:9–11, paraphrase)
What words or truths is He highlighting for you today?
2. If God expresses His love by singing over us, is there a song you’d like to sing back to Him? Maybe it’s one you already know, or perhaps you want to put new words to a spontaneous tune that expresses your heart to the One who continually sings over you. (Try it… it’s fun! And if nothing comes to mind, here’s another place you might want to start):
Oh, the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured, boundless, free.
Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me.
Underneath me, all around me, is the current of Thy love.
Leading onward, leading homeward to Thy glorious rest above.
Oh, the deep, deep love of Jesus! Spread His praise from shore to shore,
For He loveth, ever loveth, changeth never, nevermore.
How He watches o’er His loved ones, died to call them all His own.
How for them He intercedeth, watches o’er them from the throne.
Oh, the deep, deep love of Jesus! Love of ev’ry love the best;
‘Tis an ocean full of blessing, ‘tis a haven filled with rest.
Oh the deep, deep love of Jesus! ‘Tis a heav’n of heav’ns to me;
And it lifts me up to glory, for it lifts me up to Thee.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Myra Perrine has been with Novo since 1996, working on several teams in multiple capacities. She currently serves on Novo’s Prophetic and Coaching Teams, and lives in Northern California with her husband and their two adopted families, six amazing grandkids, and three adorable pets.
