WE GO ON to another step in abiding in Him: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in His love” (John 15:9–10). Here abiding in Him emphasizes abiding in love. You are abiding in Christ to the degree that you abide in love.
This is an important step. This defines abiding in Him as abiding in love, and also defines fruitfulness as fruitfulness in love. This making love preeminent in abiding in Him runs true to the genius of the Christian faith. It makes love supreme in God—“God is love”—makes it supreme in our manifesting our loyalty to Him—“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God”—and makes it supreme in the fruit of the Spirit—“love, joy, peace.” Love is first in God, in our loyalty to God, and in the fruit of our lives.
If we are not manifesting our abiding in Him by being a loving person, we are not abiding in Him. If our contacts with people are not love contacts, then we have no contact with Christ. It is a simple test, but very profound and important. Some hold that we are abiding in Christ if we have correct views about Christ—if we are orthodox; some hold that we are abiding in Christ if we have correct conduct—if we are orthoprax. Neither of these, though both are important, is the supreme test. The supreme test is: Do I manifest love in all the manifestations of my life? If not, then to the degree that I do not, I am not in Him. I am in something else.
Even this must be further qualified: it is not enough to be in love; we must be in a certain kind of love: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (v. 12).
O Jesus, my Lord, we have at last reached the summit—the summit of love and life. We are to love each other as Thou hast loved us. A Christlike love is love at its very highest. I am grateful that Thou hast brought me out at the Ultimate. I thank Thee. Amen.
AFFIRMATION FOR THE DAY: I was made by Love, for love, and to love—I will fulfill my destiny.
