Three things describe a servant of Jesus:
- Love
- Sacrifice
- Obedience
Jesus coming down to earth was God showing His love in action. After He ascended back into Heaven, the Lord commanded us to show His love to others by our actions. He sent the Holy Spirit to us to help us show that love. That love will produce a sacrifice and an obedience in our lives that we would otherwise not have.
God’s love in our lives will prevent us from sinning. The Holy Spirit, working through His love, will convict us. That same love working in us will cause us to renew our minds so that we will no longer desire that sin.
If we have to ask how to love others, than we’re in the flesh. If we’re in the Spirit, we will want to treat others better than we are treated, not get others to treat us well. If we’re born again, then God has poured out His love into our hearts, since we cannot love Him sufficiently with our own love.
A sacrifice for another, grounded in love, does not feel like a sacrifice. This isn’t merely doing things for other people – that doesn’t necessarily mean we love them. It will, however, be a result of loving others.
We see a good example of God’s forgiving love with Peter and the disciples. After the resurrection, Peter declared he was going back to fishing – that is he went back to his worldly business. He and the other disciples didn’t catch anything all night, but Jesus caught up with them. They didn’t recognize Him at first – if we spend enough time away, we will be unable to recognize the Lord. In His mercy, the Lord performed a miracle, and gave them a very large catch, providing for them. It was then that they recognized Him.
Jesus concludes by asking Peter if he loves Jesus more than the blessings and more than the world. If we love Jesus more than these things, then we will take care of His sheep.
Key Scriptures: 1 Thessalonians 4:9-10, John 20:21-22, John 21:1-15
