Appointed To Bear Fruit: A 90 Day JourneySample

Confident in God’s Love

At the start of Jesus’ earthly ministry, He came to the Jordan River where John was baptizing new believers. Jesus told John to baptize Him for He is the Lamb of God, who would take away the sins of the world. Jesus’ baptism was actually the start of His journey to Calvary, where He would die as a sacrifice for our sins. Immediately after Jesus was baptized, the Father spoke from heaven saying: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” The Father confessed His love and pleasure for the Son. There was another time when the gospel records the Father speaking from heaven. It was when Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem, where He would be crucified. Jesus went up on a mountain and was transfigured sharing His Father’s glory. Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus, too. They discussed “his departure (exodus), which he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem” (Luke 9:31). Again, the Father spoke from heaven saying that Jesus was His beloved Son. 

Both at the baptism and transfiguration, we were told about the Father’s love for the Son. Jesus fulfilled the Father’s will by becoming our sacrifice. He was willing to empty Himself for us, taking the form of a lowly servant. Because Jesus knew how great His Father’s love was for Him, He was willing to do this. Finally, when Jesus breathed His last breath on the cross, He cried out: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46). Jesus was willing to die because He had complete confidence in the Father’s love for Him. That love gave Him the boldness to fulfill the Father’s plan of salvation. The perfect eternal love of the Father for the Son was crucial to bringing salvation to mankind, because God loves the world. It’s His desire that no one should perish; He wants all to be saved. In spite of their rebellion against Him, people are valuable to God. We deserved punishment and death for our sins, but the Father’s great love for us brought us life instead through the sacrifice of the Son. 

This same love is now available to us. It’s not limited only to the Father and the Son. The Son faced death on the cross with confidence, only because He knew the perfect love of the Father. The love which brought the fulfillment of the Father’s plan of salvation is now given to us through Christ, so that we might bring this salvation to the world—our mission. Undoubtedly, we will face many hardships as we do this. In fact, we might quite possibly be misunderstood, arrested, persecuted, and even killed. Yet, it is the love of Christ—the same love that exists between the Father and Son—that compels us to do it. When we risk our lives and are willing to die for Christ, we do so knowing that our spirit has been committed into the hands of our Great High Priest. It is God’s love for us that motivates us to do greater works, because we know that whatever price we pay, nothing can separate us from the love of Christ (Rom. 8:38-39). 

Abiding in Christ’s love is crucial for us to do His work and be right with God. But oftentimes, if we’re not careful, our sin can replace our love for Christ with our own self-love. When this happens, our priorities are no longer Christ’s priorities, but our own. This shift keeps us from living for God’s glory. As Christ’s disciples, it’s important to remember that dying to self is possible only by abiding in Christ. We can face any situation because of our security in Christ. 

Application:  How are you abiding in His love?