Prevailing Verses: Remain in My Love

From John 15:1-8 we read Jesus' visually beautiful metaphor:  'I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.  He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.  

'Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.'

Jesus means what He says.  If we remain in Him [thus in His love] and we allow Him to remain in us, we will bear holy goodness in word and deed, in our souls and lives.  Without Jesus we can do nothing of true and lasting worth.  If we do not remain in His love and obey His command to love one another, we cut ourselves off from the source of God's love, the truth, the way, the life.  If we remain in Christ and allow Him, His words, His love, to remain in us, we are in His will.  Ask then, and we shall receive all that He wills.  We glorify God when we remain in Christ, bearing good fruit, learning, living in Him in every present moment.

'Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither, people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.'

The following are the prevailing verses [emboldened] in which Jesus clarifies the process by which we are to remain in His love and obey His command. 

John 15:9  'As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love.'

John 15:11-14  'I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.'

Imagine Jesus' joy being in us, and our joy being complete.  Who in any life, in any time period, in any present moment would not want Jesus' joy: complete joy?  Jesus has explained repeatedly, simply, how to remain in His love, to obey His command to love one another as He loves us.  He laid down His live for us, His friends.

John 15:16-17  'It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go out and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another.'

 Jesus chooses us--has chosen us!  He appointed us to live our lives saying and doing that which is good and will remain.  What is all good and remains forever?  God's loving will.  If we remain in His love and obey His command to love one another, what we ask is given for we ask from within His loving will.  Let Jesus' words dwell in and absorb us!