She is a mom, wife, and passionate believer that Jesus changes everything.
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How to remain in God’s love is a question I have been asked time and time again through my ministry career. It is a hard concept for a lot of Christians because God’s love is unlike anything else in this world.
But there really is no mystery to remaining in God’s love. It’s really quite simple and plainly laid out in Scripture. Jesus not only shows us how to remain in God’s love, but He specifically tells us how to do this in John 15:9-17.
Below are 8 ways to remain in God’s love, I sincerely hope this helps you in your walk with Jesus.
And if you are looking for some other awesome resources about God’s love check out 25 worship songs about God’s love and 21 Bible verses about God’s love.
A Bible Study On John 15:9-17
“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. 13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. 16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.17 This is my command: Love each other. Courtesy of Biblegatway.com NLT
Remaining In God’s Love Means Keeping God’s Commands
John 15:10 (NLT) states: “When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.”
Jesus is pretty clear in this passage. It is through adherence to the Father’s commandments that we remain in God’s love.
The commandments of God are quite simple: To love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, and soul and to love all people (Matthew 22:37-40). Jesus emphasizes that all the law and prophets can be rolled up into these two commands.
Our call on the surface seems quite easy, but of course, you know this command to love all people is very difficult. It is only through God’s love that we find the way to love all people and that is a journey in of itself.
Not to mention that loving God with all of our heart, mind, and soul is not as easy as it seems. In reality, we constantly dethrone God in our hearts, minds, and/or souls. Often times, we don’t do this consciously- nor do we actually want to dethrone Him… but we do. We are no different than so many of the people we find in the Bible, like David or Peter. We are fickle and often supplant the Lord and replace Him with our own desires and our own way.
To be a good and true disciple, we must always be willing to ask God and ourselves if we have Him supreme in all the places of our hearts and minds. The Lord will lead and show you if there is anything you are making more important than Him. And He will do this tenderly and lovingly.
Remaining In God’s Love Means Following Jesus’ Example
Reading further into John 15:10 (NLT), it states: “When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.”
Here, Jesus Himself is stating that He must obey the Father’s commands to remain in God’s love. While Jesus was on this earth, yes, He was fully God and fully human. However, He emptied Himself and relied on the power of the Holy Spirit (Philippians 2:7) to be His guide-just like we must do. So when Jesus says this, He really is speaking to something profound.
Jesus is trying to emphasize the importance of following God’s commands in order to be continually receiving God’s love.
Remaining In God’s Love Means Receiving God’s Love In The First Place
In John 15:11 (NLT), we read, “I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!”
Joy is a Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and joy is the product of remaining in God’s love.
God is always ushering His love on us, but often times we do not notice or recognize it is from Him. Yes, sometimes we do, but more often then not we miss all the love He is always providing us day in and day out.
Receiving God’s love is obviously paramount to remaining in His love. If you have trouble with receiving God’s love, then you should start there. Talk to God about it, be honest and open and He will lead you through it all with love and kindness, giving you just what you need.
Remaining In God’s Love Means Loving Other People
Next, we’re going to examine John 15:12 and John 15:17.
John 15:12 states, “This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.” John 15:17 “This is my command: Love each other.”
In light of this passage, we learn that in order to remain in God’s love, we must love other people. Not only does Jesus emphasize this in John 15:12, But He also ends this section with the command to “love each other.”
Have you ever thought of loving others as part of the equation of remaining in God’s love?
There certainly is a lot of Scripture about loving others and the importance of forgiveness and grace to all people.
To remain in God’s love, you must choose to love all people-and honestly this cannot be done without utter reliance on God.
Remaining In God’s Love Means A Life Of Servanthood
Next, we’ll examine John 15:13, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
One of Jesus’ main purposes for coming to our world was to show us how to walk with God in this realm, and be a really good and solid follower of God.
Jesus’ life and ministry can be defined as a life of servanthood.
Jesus not only laid down His life for all who would follow, but He also continually bestowed grace and love to the world around Him.
To remain in God’s love, we must take on the life of servanthood that Jesus displayed so beautifully.
Remaining In God’s Love Means Continual Growth
Next, let’s examine John 15:16, “You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.”
In particular, let’s focus on the middle of John 15:16, “I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit.”
When we walk with God, remaining in His love, we will be continually bearing Fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). Love is a Fruit of the Spirit and some even interpret the other 8 Fruit of the Spirit to be held up and supported by and through love.
As Christians, we should always be changing and growing. Our Fruit should be ripe and good enough to eat (so to speak). When we are not growing and changing, we really need to ask God and ourselves what is happening and take a good look to see if there is a stumbling block to our growth and intimacy with God.
To Remain In God’s Love There Must Be A Continual Desire
Moving from the Scriptural text to some practical advice, we have to remember that in order to remain in God’s love you must have a desire to have this kind of relationship with Him.
Unfortunately, a lot of Christians are completely content on having God in a box, accessing Him only on Sunday mornings or before bed.
If God is fragmented in your life, you will have a hard time actively receiving His love for you and an even harder time mirroring that love to all people.
But you can do something about this! Ask God to set your heart on fire for Him always. Express your desire for more of Him and His love in your life… and He will come through!
Remaining In God’s Love Means A Life Of Self-Discipline, It Means Making It A Priority In Your Everyday Life.
And finally, remaining in God’s love means taking an approach to life that goes beyond Church attendance, Bible study groups, quiet time. It is an approach to Christianity that means a life of continually abiding in God’s presence and His love.
In order to remain in God’s love, you simply must choose to make it a priority in your life.
What would it look like if you said every day, “I am going to choose to remain in God’s love.”
Our Christian walk doesn’t just happen automatically, and it doesn’t do much of anything if we are not actively working on growing closer to God. A good and true disciple’s quest is to draw closer to God every single day, to actively receive His love, and to mirror it to all people they interact with.
Make A Commitment To Everyday Discipleship
I believe a deep connection to God comes from a routine of commitment to Him. That’s why I created Forevergreen, a membership, and community designed for Christian women who want to grow closer to God every single day.
I provide daily devotions via email, a monthly digital Christian planner, a monthly worship playlist, and a monthly Bible study. In addition, there are tons of other goodies part of this awesome membership like a Facebook group, a free e-book I wrote about building unshakable faith, and so much more! Learn more here.
May you continually experience God’s love and show that love you receive from God to all people!
