Jesus said, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love” (John 15:9).

Following Jesus is all about the gospel. The gospel can be described in many ways and my favorite way at the moment is to abide in God’s love. “God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

God loves us unconditionally and we know this is true because of Jesus. Rest in this love: “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

Gospel = Good News. “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us” (1 John 3:16). Isn’t this good news? Sounds a lot like the good news of John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Abiding with Jesus is by grace, through faith. And of course, faith itself is rooted in the work of God, the divine Gardner, who has grafted us into the vine. (John 15:3) The vine gives life to the branch which then bears fruit. It starts with abiding. In this season of Lent, “abide with Jesus and see what great love the Father has lavished on us” (1 John 3:1).

The Lord be with you,
Pastor Kent