Loving Jesus Like the Father Does
I’ve been meditating on a verse that has got to be one of the most…well…insane…in all of the Bible. If we believe it, we cannot walk away from the Bible believing that God is against us.
In John 17:25 Jesus prays, “…that the love that you have for me may be in them.” That is, that the love that the Father has for Jesus would be in us. As I’ve been thinking about this verse, my conclusion is that Jesus is asking the Father to give us the same passionate, holy love towards the Son that the Father Himself experiences towards the Son. We are called to love Jesus as the Father loves Jesus. Which of course begs the question: How does the the Father love Jesus?
This has been the question I’ve been asking God the last few months. How do you love your Son? How can I love Him in the same way?
I’ve not come to anything like a conclusion on this yet, but I do have one thought on how the Father has loved Jesus. The Father is THE friend of the Bridegroom beyond all ‘friends’ of the Bridegroom. The Father has faithfully, humbly spent enormous energy, time, and focus upon preparing a Bride who is worthy of spending eternity with His Son.
This is one way that we can enter with the Father into His love for His Son, by coming with Him in preparing Jesus’ Bride. It is an idea that is definitely inspiring my heart and helping me move forward in prayer right now and I thought it may be an encouraging thought for others.
I’ve read that chapter probably 800 times and not seen that. Why is Jesus able to pray something so far beyond human capability. and I’m just sharing my first thoughts here, seriously, love jesus like the Father loves him? I can’t even love him with the thin weak love of man, you know the love that only lasts as long as I am recieving something back, Am I really able to join Jesus in this prayer that I would love him as the father does, what would be the results of praying that? Can I pray that in all sincerity without knowing the full wieght of such a prayer, or what it will cost me? I’m a little freaked out.
kris: i’m not sure what it means, hence my post. but that is my working theory - and i think it points to the nature of the maturity of the entire Bride of Christ, not individual believers…it won’t cost you anything to pray it - it will give you grace to love God more!
The grace to love God more. word up on that my bearded comrade. I could use some of that grace for sure.