At our Wednesday night Connect Group meeting this week we were meditating on a passage in John’s Gospel. In particular, we were meditating on chapter 15 where Jesus is speaking to His disciples. He speaks of Himself as being the “true vine” and that they are “the branches”, and that if the branches are not connected to the vine they quickly wither and die. It’s a very powerful illustration of the spiritual life of the believer and how that is sustained and nourished to become fruit bearing. And all this to the Father’s glory.
A key theme running through this conversation Jesus is having with His disciples is that of unconditional love. That is “agape” love which is shared between the heavenly Father and the Son. This is the richest, purest, most profound kind of love from which all other kinds of love are derived. It is not a naturally occurring thing on the earth. It comes from God who is, Himself, love personified which is shared with the whole world.
John 3:16 (NIV)
“For God so loved [agape] the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Jesus wants this “agape” love to be learned and developed and shared between His disciples. This would become the single most defining characteristic of who they were, such that the world would know without doubt that they were His disciples. So, this kind of love would be the defining characteristic of God’s people, too, and it would be derived from our abiding with Jesus, the true vine. This kind of love comes from God and is imparted to us and is developed and matured in the fellowship of believers as we remain connected to the true vine, Jesus. This word, “agape” is used here some nine times by Jesus. This is not an accident. In fact, Jesus says,
John 15:8 (NIV)
“This is to My Father's glory, that you bear much fruit,
showing yourselves to be My disciples.”
Following this statement is when “agape” is mentioned nine times. In fact, it is even commanded by Jesus. And it’s not difficult to conclude, therefore, that the fruit to which Jesus is referring is primarily “agape” love - increasing and flourishing amongst God’s people. This kind of love is the essence of intimacy with Jesus the Son. It is the same essence shared between God the Father and God the Son. It defines the Godhead, and it is holy and glorious.
So just think about this, for a moment. Jesus commands that this kind of love is to be practised and developed and cherished amongst the people of God to such a degree that it too becomes a holy glorious manifestation of the glory of God on the earth. From this kind of love flows every other kind of good thing.
Swiss cardinal and theologian, Hans Urs von Balthasar, wrote a book in 2012 called, “Love Alone Is Credible”, (not the easiest read, by the way), where he argues that divine love is the ultimate key to understanding God. Abstract logic and historical proofs fail to convince a cynical world. Instead, unconditional love acts as the only true and believable witness to the Gospel because it defies and far exceeds the world’s best thinking and most noble attributes. God's love is the most convincing and self-evident proof of faith there is. And when that love is in us it becomes self-evident to the world, too.
Von Balthasar uses beauty and love — rather than cold scientific or historical arguments — as the primary lens to interpret God. Human logic and reason cannot fully explain existence or pull reality together, he said. True meaning is found only in God's self-revelation through love.
While people may doubt religious dogmas or intellectual arguments and so on, self-sacrificing love remains striking and believable and undeniable. “For God so loved the world …”. Arguments, doctrines, theologies and philosophies simply do not have the same credibility as “agape”. They are all debatable and various – “agape” is not. Love alone is credible. Of course, opinions are mixed on whether love is enough in relationships. Many would argue that compatibility, shared values, and communication are also required, while others view love as an active choice that can carry a partnership through hard challenges. Well, yes, but Balthasar does not omit these traits altogether, he simply makes the point that the most credible, believable basis for knowing and trusting in God is love – unconditional love. And it started with Him …
1 John 4:19 (NIV) “We love because he first loved us.”
Anyway, as a group we discussed all this kind of stuff on Wednesday night. And the thought arose in our conversations that if the fellowship of God’s people could learn and mature in this kind of love, as Christ commanded, and as the branches remained connected to the true vine, the fruit of this love would increase. Fruit, more fruit, much fruit. And not only would the world really understand who Jesus is and how the abundant life is lived; the Church, who is the bride that God the Father is preparing for the Lamb, would truly be fit for relationship with the bridegroom. The bride would truly be able to love the bridegroom in the most glorious way. Isn’t Jesus entitled to this kind of love? Is this how I love Jesus now? Am I abiding in the true vine so that this kind of love is received, and learned and nourished, and matured to become increasingly fruitful? This is the point of Jesus’ teaching about the true vine and the branches, which are us.
John 15:17 (NIV)
“This is My command: Love each other.”
This kind of love – “agape” - unconditional, unhesitating, unreserved and willingly sacrificial without counting any cost, or expecting any return, is what fuels our faith and obedience as Christ followers. It is learned in the fellowship as we do life together, warts and all, and it is the one thing that makes forgiveness possible - and credible. This is the bride’s gift to the Lamb.
Revelation 19:7 (NIV)
“Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready.”
Well, these are just some of our thoughts and ideas on the first night of our new bible study together in John 15. And they have already enriched our relationships with each other. Can’t wait for next week.
Ps Milton