Amazedنموونە

Loved Like Jesus

In the coming days, we will return to the theme verse for this plan, “For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed' (John 5:20, NIV).

In previous days, Jesus’ authority to give life and to judge was examined. Divine rights that bring honor to the Son and the Father. Now we’ll begin focusing on verse twenty as it relates to Jesus and his followers around the world.

To reiterate, because the Father loves Jesus, he gives him all things (John 3:35). Now, in John 5:20, it is the Father’s love for Jesus that shows him all that he is doing.* And since the Father shows Jesus what he is doing out of love, this is good news for you and me—because the Father loves us too.

Before his arrest and eventual crucifixion, Jesus prayed for himself and his followers. Within that prayer are these words: “I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me” (John 17:23, ESV, emphasis mine). Stop for a moment and let that sink in. If you’ve received Christ as your Savior and Lord, the Father loves you Iike he loves Jesus (see also John 17:26). Perhaps that is why the Apostle Paul prayed that the Spirit would strengthen us to know the love of God that surpasses knowledge (Ephesians 3:16-19). Trying to explain the Father’s great love in words is beyond what any human being can do. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is necessary to communicate the depth of that truth. But rest assured, that God, who cannot lie, loves us like he loves Jesus.

This is not only humbling and intimately touches our hearts, but it is also a cause for anticipation. Since the Father, out of love, shows Jesus all that he is doing, then out of love, he will also show you and me what He is doing so we too can participate in the “greater works” the Lord continues to do.

*The love between God the Father and God the Son is reciprocal. Note John 14 below.

Prayer Suggestion: Consider making the passage from Ephesians 3 a regular part of your prayer life, trusting God to help you comprehend his amazing love.

John 17:20-26
John 14:28-31
Ephesians 3:14-21