8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
Key Observation:
The two key themes Jesus is emphasizing here is that we love one another, and that we bear much fruit.
Devotion:
McGee has this to say about abiding: “Abiding is a continuing communion. That is the relationship of branch and vine. I have a 72 x 123 ranch here in California on which grow four avocado trees, three orange trees, and one tangerine tree. I have never had to say to the branches that they should abide in the tree or we wouldn’t have any fruit. I’ve never been up in the night to inspect them or come home unexpectedly and found the branches running around away from the tree. They abide and they bear fruit. You think I am being ridiculous. However, many Christians think they can live like the Devil all week and on Saturday night, then come in and serve the Lord on Sunday. I happen to know because I tried that for years. My friend, we must be in constant communion with Him to bear fruit. That means when you wake in the morning, when you are at your desk in the office, when you are driving your car on the streets, you are abiding in constant communion.”
Abiding means staying in tune with, walking by the side of, residing where I am supposed to be. Abiding is the conditional part on my part—what I must do if I desire to be able to come to God and ask whatever I will. It is a profound and gigantic promise—ask whatever you will and I will do it for you. The interesting thing about the Christian life is that abiding in Christ might be thought to be impossible. How can I, being so weak and ineffectual, possibly abide in Christ? I cannot begin to do it in my own power. It is only through taking on the very nature and power of God that I can find victory. The song says there is victory in Jesus, and indeed there is.
What is demanded of me then? I must surrender my ways to God. When I have to answer the phone and talk to that guy that always seems to take forever, when I have to visit someone sick or poor for the umpteenth time, when I get the request late at night to do something for my brother in Christ—at those times I need to surrender to God, and let the Holy Spirit in me do what He will. Jesus tells the stories of two sons, one which says he will do the will of his father, but does not do it, and secondly, the one who says he will not do the will of his father, but goes and does it. I am far more like the second son—I start off unwilling and am made willing as I surrender to God. I learned early in my Christian life to pray, not that I would be willing to do everything, but that I could be made willing to be made willing to do anything God wanted me to do.
There is a huge difference. I think I will never, at least on this side of heaven, want to do the good things that I am called to do—rather I need to pray that God will make me over in His image, to be more willing to do those things that He wants me to. I have no trouble with wanting to do everything the Lord wants me to do, except when it becomes something specific that I really do not want to do. That sort of reminds my of the fellow who quipped, “I love the world, it’s the people I can’t stand.” I know what my Lord did for me, and that ought to motivate me, not to do everything, but to surrender to Him in everything.
He calls me His friend in this passage, and reminds me that friends give their lives for each other. He willingly gave His life for me. Should I not willingly give my life for Him? And He has not given me an impossible task, for His very Spirit resides within me to make possible that which I could never do on my own. There is victory in Jesus!
McGee, J. Vernon (1990-01-30). Thru the Bible 1-5 (5 Volume Set) (Kindle Locations 103174-103180). Grupo Nelson. Kindle Edition.
Victory in Jesus
I heard an old, old story,
How a Savior came from glory,
How He gave His life on Calvary
To save a wretch like me;
I heard about His groaning,
Of His precious blood's atoning,
Then I repented of my sins
And won the victory.
Chorus
O victory in Jesus,
My Savior, forever.
He sought me and bought me
With His redeeming blood;
He loved me ere I knew Him
And all my love is due Him,
He plunged me to victory,
Beneath the cleansing flood.
I heard about His healing,
Of His cleansing pow'r revealing.
How He made the lame to walk again
And caused the blind to see;
And then I cried, "Dear Jesus,
Come and heal my broken spirit,"
And somehow Jesus came and bro't
To me the victory.
Chorus
O victory in Jesus,
My Savior, forever.
He sought me and bought me
With His redeeming blood;
He loved me ere I knew Him
And all my love is due Him,
He plunged me to victory,
Beneath the cleansing flood.
I heard about a mansion
He has built for me in glory.
And I heard about the streets of gold
Beyond the crystal sea;
About the angels singing,
And the old redemption story,
And some sweet day I'll sing up there
The song of victory.
Chorus
O victory in Jesus,
My Savior, forever.
He sought me and bought me
With His redeeming blood;
He loved me ere I knew Him
And all my love is due Him,
He plunged me to victory,
Beneath the cleansing flood.
Author: Eugene Bartlett
Year Written: 1939
Copyright: BMI Work#1803360
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