Two Bookends : Fear of the Lord & Being Kept in His Love.Sample

PART 2

KEPT IN THE LOVE OF GOD

In the first part of this devotional, we looked at one bookend that helps us run strong till the end, the Fear of reverence for God.

Over the next few days, we will look at the other bookend i.e., being kept in the Love of God: who does this and how?

We are going to meditate on the doxology found at the end of Jude. But before we do that let us look at Jude 21 keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

Jude is Jesus’ brother. Jude encourages the Christians to contend for their faith amidst ungodliness and faithlessness. People were drifting away from the truth. He is writing to them to contend for the faith that was in danger of getting diluted by other teachings and philosophies.

The greatest battle you may fight is the fight of perseverance. Jesus says many times in Revelations that crowns await those who overcome.

What is a doxology?

A Doxology is a short hymn of praise written to remind us to lift our eyes to God. Jude ends his message to the church with this.

Let us look at verse 21 before we dive into doxology.

Keep – the Greek word tērēsate means to watch over, to guard.

Keep is an active verb. We must do something. Keep and keep on keeping yourself in the love of God.

Keep: to stand guard, to be vigilant over. Why and what? Because the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he can devour. So be alert and always pray.

What kind of love should we keep ourselves in?

Agape love: not any other love. Not any other affections or your old boyfriends. Keep yourself ‘in’ agape, the unconditional, never-ending, never-failing love of God. It is the only reliable true love. This love sent Jesus to the cross. Jesus says in John 15, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you”. You must engage with God actively and intentionally. Jesus asks us to “Remain in me as I remain in you”.

We need to cultivate steadfastness in the way Jesus is steadfast in loving us.

We must keep ourselves because it is easy to get distracted by other loves. What can we lose? We can lose the joy and fruit of abiding in Jesus which is a terrible thing. It is terrible for a Christ follower to live like a pauper when they have access to every blessing in Christ.

REFLECTIONS

·What do you do to keep yourself in the love of God?

·How can you overcome being distracted by other loves?