Tag Archives: John 15:9-12

Done Trying to Fix Life? (Embrace God’s Greater Story)

January 31, 2019 robuck4@aol.com 8 Comments

Lost in a Temporary World

Have you ever been so into watching a movie or TV series you forgot about the ‘real world’ for a while? I suppose that’s part of the appeal. For a period of time we can get so lost in what’s happening on the other side of a screen, we forget about the duties and challenges we’ll face when we’re done. Or maybe we’ll watch another episode.

First Thing Happiness

In his book, A Different Kind of Happiness,[1] Larry Crabb awakens us to the fact that we’re all part of an eternal reality which supersedes what goes on before our eyes. This larger story, orchestrated by God, will not be thwarted. Crabb calls us to stop focusing on the temporary world and our endless pursuit of happiness. He calls this kind of circumstantial happiness – second thing happiness.

Rather he urges us to travel the narrow road of seeking what he calls first thing happiness or joy. First thing happiness is unaffected by how our lives are going because it flows from God’s larger story. He says loving like Jesus is what keeps us in the flow of God’s greater purposes.

“Loving like Jesus, self-sacrificially and not self protectively, produces first thing happiness.”[2]

Loving Like Jesus

The night before He was crucified, Jesus demonstrated His love by washing the disciples’ feet, a duty typically done by the servants of the house. Jesus even washed the feet of Judas and Peter, whom He knew would betray and deny Him. Later that same night, He gave one command, which if we obey it, will keep us in His love and complete our joy.

⁹“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ¹⁰If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. ¹¹I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. ¹²My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you (John 15:9-12 NIV).

There are amazing facts in these verses:

Jesus loves us as much as God loves Him (Verse 9)
Jesus commands us to remain in His love, then he tells us how (Verse 9, 10,12)
Jesus says if we love others as He’s loved us, we’ll remain in His love (Verses 10,12)
Jesus says these things to give us His Joy and to make our joy complete (Verse 11)

In Summary

If we love others sacrificially, as Jesus has loved us, we’ll experience His joy, a joy not based on circumstances, a joy fueled by His love.

Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2b NASB).

As Crabb puts it:[3]

Determine to walk life on the narrow road, not focusing on temporary happiness.
Live your life in the larger story of what God’s doing
Engage the battle for a better love, loving as Jesus has loved us
Look at life from above the sun, not from under the sun

The way Paul states this last point is: Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory (Colossians 3:1-4 NASB).

See II Corinthian 4:16-18 for another great example of living in God’s larger story.

Personal Experience

These rhythms of focusing on God’s eternal story and not being so concerned with my own happiness has been a real paradigm shift in my life. I have a long way to go, but the shift is gaining traction. What helps is when my focus and prayer of the day is, Lord, who do you want to love through me today?

Throughout these days I can be tempted to leave this focus and go back to fighting for smooth circumstances and pleasant moments. However, when, by the abiding Holy Spirit, I keep the duties as the second thing and focus on the people, the results are most encouraging.

Through this evolving process, trusting in God’s sovereignty and His greater purposes produces growing hope and joy, even during personal difficulties.

And, not having to fight for own my happiness is extremely freeing.

As this new journey on the narrow road unfolds, the duties are not the main thing, but the pathways to the people God wants to love through me. The difficulties bring me into the flow of God’s larger story of freeing every human heart to find satisfaction and contentment in Christ alone.

[1]Larry Crabb, A Different Kind of Happiness (Baker Books, 2016)

[2] Ibid, p 21

[3] Ibid, p 222

Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.

Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post a few times a month. Thank you for reading.

Novels by the Author:

What happens when a professor figures out how to send messages to his younger self to try and avoid the suicide of his best friend? Did he change more than he bargained for? Beyond Time

By finding two undelivered letters in a old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowing set off a series of events which uncover a plot to wipe out a whole family Hope Remains

Rejoicing in Life's Moments

Quiddity. It Could Change Your Life. (Republished in the Moments)

January 17, 2019 robuck4@aol.com 5 Comments

Rubbing Your Nose in it

I have a good friend named Ches who, when introduced to something new, will bring it to his nose to smell it. Until recently, I thought this quite odd, but now I’m seeing he may be on to something.

Surprised by Joy

I was introduced to the word “quiddity” in the book, Surprised By Joy, C.S. Lewis’ autobiography. Of his friend, A. K. Hamilton Jenkins, Lewis wrote that he “seemed to be able to enjoy everything, even ugliness.”[1] From Jenkins’ example, Lewis learned to, “attempt total surrender to whatever atmosphere was offering at the moment; in a squalid town to seek out those places where it’s squalor rose to grimness and almost grandeur,”[2] He called this a “serious, yet gleeful determination to rub one’s nose in the very quiddity of each thing, to rejoice in its being (so magnificently) what it was.”[3] I need to tell Ches about this.

I don’t yet grasp the glee in all Lewis is referring to. However, the thought of fully appreciating something for what it is, even when unpleasant, awakens a longing within me.

As a side note, Lewis defined Joy as “the experience of an unsatisfied desire, which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction.”[4] Quiddity awakens a desire within my soul.

What is Quiddity?

Quiddity is defined as, “the inherent nature or essence of something or someone.” More simply put, the “whatness” or “what it is.” [5] Quiddity is the quality of what makes something or someone unique.

John Piper has been moved by the application of quiddity in his own life. He wrote, “To wake up in the morning and to be aware of the firmness of the mattress, the warmth of the sun’s rays, the sound of the clock ticking, the coldness of the wooden floor, the wetness of the water in the sink, the sheer being of things (quiddity as he called it). And not just to be aware but to wonder. To be amazed that the water is wet. It did not have to be wet. If there were no such thing as water, and one day someone showed it to you, you would simply be astonished.”[6]

I too want to appreciate what makes the people and things around me unique. Several benefits of this focus come to mind:

Accepting the Ugly and Unpleasant Parts of Life?

I’ve spent a life time running from and denying the hard parts of life. But these difficult aspects of my journey have played a major part in who I am today. The unpleasant parts of life have been used to prune my heart as I desire to be full of Joy, in the Lord, always. [7]

Lord, help me to fully embrace all moments of my life. Help me understand, that in Your sovereignty, You allow me to experience all manner of people and things for Your purposes. Teach me to embrace and cherish all You bring my way, the pleasant and unpleasant.

Keeping Me From Being Self Focused

Fully embracing my surroundings, appreciating the quiddity of all aspects of my journey, keeps me from worrying about me. I’m complete, in Christ.[8] He’s unleashed me to be more fully present each moment. This is extremely freeing.

Lord, You’ve given me five senses to appreciate life’s moments. These senses are only active now. You’ve taken care of me. I don’t have to clutter my mind with regrets from the past or concerns for the future. Please keep me focused on the present and teach me how to fully appreciate the qualities of the people and objects You bring my way.

Helping Me Love Others as Christ Has Loved Me

By appreciating and seeking to understand how God has uniquely made each person, I can more easily love them as Christ has loved me.

Lord, You’ve commanded me to love others as You’ve loved me.[9] You tell me that if I do this, I’ll remain in Your love and that You’ll make my Joy complete.[10] This is amazing. Please give me a full understanding of the essence and uniqueness of every person You bring my way, even those who seem unpleasant. I ask these things so that I might love them sacrificially, as You’ve loved me.

In Conclusion

I need to spend more time with Ches, learning how to rub my nose in the magic of what surrounds me.

Lord, You know my desire to Rejoice in You always. Thank you for showing me about Quiddity. Please teach me how to keep my eyes off of me and on everything you bring my way. May my appreciation of my surroundings help me praise and worship You moment by moment. Amen.

[1] Surprised By Joy, Harcourt, p. 199

[2] Ibid, p. 199

[3] Ibid, p. 199

[4] Lessons from an Inconsolable Soul, John Piper, Desiring God 2010 Conference for Pastors

[5] Google Dictionary

[6] Lessons from an Inconsolable Soul, John Piper, Desiring God 2010 Conference for Pastors

[7] Philippians 4:4

[8] Colossians 2:10

[9] John 13:34

[10] John 15:9-12

Novels by the Author:

Beyond Time

Hope Remains

Loved by God

Loving Others is More than Just a Nice Command

July 6, 2018 robuck4@aol.com Leave a comment

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. John 13:34-35

All of Scripture can be summed up in Jesus’ new command to love others as He’s loved us. But He’s Lord. We’re not. How can this quality of love be our norm, especially in the midst of life’s ups and downs? When life gets tough, loving others isn’t always our top priority. Yet, as we’ll see, loving others as He’s loved us is the key to our own fulfillment and Joy.

We Love Because He First Loved Us

We love because He first loved us. I John 4:19

Us loving others has to start with God’s love for us. He is the source of all love. Human love is impure and self serving. We’re to be branches, yielding the fruit of love from Jesus, our vine.

But when the fact of God’s amazing love is hidden from us, we operate on our own, seeking love from others as we love.

What Quality of Love

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! I John 3:1

We’ll never fully grasp the enormity of God’s love for us, but the more we hear the truth and seek His understanding, the more our heart begins to grasp it’s enormity.

Jesus tells us He loves us as much as the Father loves Him (John 15:9)

Paul says God’s love for us and His supernatural power at work within us, is beyond comprehension. (Ephesians 3:19)

God’s love is completely unselfish. Jesus demonstrated it when he washed the feet of men who would deny and betray Him, Peter and Judas. Then hours later, he died for us all, His enemies.

Use your imagination a moment to consider this quality of God’s love for you. By faith, recon it true. Against all which would say otherwise, rest in His love. Shame has been destroyed. Striving has ceased. You’re in Christ and He’s in you. Rest.

From His Love, We love

Have you ever tried to love in your own strength? I have. It didn’t turn out well. Human love expects something in return. When we love without knowing God’s love, our love is self serving. But even if we experienced the greatest human love, we’d be left us incomplete and wanting. Only the love of God completes us.

Christ did the work and in His love we’re to remain. Ours is not to strive, but to abide.

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. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. John 15:9-12

Jesus tells us how much he loves and commands us to remain in His endless, relentless love. And the way we stay in His love is by loving others.

From His Love Springs Complete Joy

The great cadence of receiving God’s love and giving it away keeps us in the love of Christ and gives us great joy.

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. John 15:11

Loving as Jesus has loved us, keeps us from needing anything from the world. We’re freed from circumstances, success, the opinion of others and worldly peace. Loving others as Jesus loves us, completes our hearts and fills us to the brim and overflowing with God’s joy. Nothing remains for us to do but rejoice.

Why Knowing God’s love and Giving it Away is Harder than it Seems

Stay in God’s love. Love others sacrificially as we yield to His Indwelling Spirit. Rest in the complete joy of His presence and love.

It sounds easy, but we all know it’s not. That’s because our enemy knows he’s completely ineffective when we’re resting in Father God’s love. Keeping us from knowing God’s love is his primary goal.

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, II Corinthians 10:3-5

Our enemy specializes in raising speculations and lofty things to block us from the knowledge of God’s love. He deceives us into doubting God’s love and settling for the world’s “love” to try and satisfy our deep longings.

But remember this. When we call upon Him, God will fight for us and free us from the enemy’s lies.

Know therefore today that the Lord your God who is crossing over before you as a consuming fire. Deuteronomy 9:3a

Prayer

Lord, I thank you for your incredible love for me. I thank you that you go before me, destroying all that would hide your love from me. I’m learning to rest in your love and it’s the sweetest place on earth. Please keep me from moving from your love. Help me to wait upon you as you go before me, destroying all speculations and lofty things which would hide your love from me.

Thank you

Home Remains – latest novel by the author

Joy in Failure

Turning Failures into Joy

November 1, 2016 robuck4@aol.com 3 Comments

I started the morning bemoaning. Rather than focusing on Christ and His work, all I could think about were my failures. They were like pesky gnats swirling around. But these unwelcomed intruders of my peace and joy found nowhere to land. God is doing a deep work in my heart. Father is teaching me that if I’ll bring these feelings to Him and not stuff them under a rock in my heart, He’ll expose them. So, I sat down, asking Him to center me in His truth.

Opening my Bible, headed one way, He redirected. Philippians 2:21 leapt off the page, “For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ.”

Isn’t that what I’m doing? I thought, looking after my own interests. Worrying about how I did instead of what Christ accomplished on my behalf, seeking my identity again in success instead of the fact that I’m loved by the Creator of the universe.

So what are Christ’s interests? Digging into the passage more, I see Paul is comparing Timothy to others. And in the verse before, I see my answer. Speaking of Timothy, Paul writes.

“For I have no one else of kindred spirit, who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare.”[1]

What are you showing me God?

Following is what I hear in my heart:

“Robby (this is my childhood nickname and I hear God speak to me tenderly as speaking to His loved child), you see I’m teaching you slowly, but very deeply that you can truly rest in what I’ve done. Those lies you woke up with can’t penetrate My love. Before they would have landed, taken root and spread. I’m healing your heart from deep lies and making you whole.

What I want to show you this morning is that you can trust Me with you. I’ve got you. I always had you and nothing can disrupt My incredible love for you. Being loved and cared for by Me completely frees you up for the work I have for you.

Look at every person I put in your path, starting with your wife and family, as my invitation to you. When you are with a person, or a person comes to mind, know these are from me. Don’t worry about what you think your work is. Trust all that to me.

My work for you is this:

Love them as I have loved you.[2]

I’ll show you how.

And it’s not really you doing it. As you yield to My Spirit in you, I’m the one really loving them.

And by the way, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be made full.” John 15:11

You will stay rooted in My love and walk around in full joy as you love others as I have loved you.” [3]

Challenge: Think of an area of your life which consistently makes you feel like a failure, an area you blew it big time. It’s okay if there’s more than one.

Assuming you are a believing child of God, does God see you as a failure in this area?

The answer is no. Remember, When God sees you, He sees His Son Jesus Christ, in whom He is well pleased.

You have a choice. Do you want to assess your value based on what God thinks about you? Or do you want to assess your value based on what you perceive others think about you because of your failure?

Based on your answer, either joy or sadness awaits you.

If you are not a child of God, this one failure does not define you either. In fact, feel free to replace the failure you’ve been thinking about with your most shining achievement. The result will be the same. Or, feel free to use the moral record of Billy Graham or Mother Teresa. Same.

All fall short of the glory of God. If it weren’t so God wouldn’t be God. And the penalty for not being perfect is separation from God. Sounds very harsh if you don’t understand Christ’s rescue and deliverance.

Without Christ, we live with our failures. We aren’t identified as His children. We can’t be with Him now or ever. We’re left to fight for purpose, identity and hope in the roller coaster of the human struggle to survive in a world filled with evil.

With Christ, all our failures are taken away as far as the east is from the west. Our past, present and future is swallowed up in His great love. We have moment by moment purpose, joy and hope.

There is great joy in resting in what Christ has done, forgetting failures and delighting in His everlasting love for you.

[1] Philippians 2:20

[2] John 15:12

[3] John 15:9-12