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God is love! Such is the explicit declaration of the scriptures (see 1 John 4.8, 16). The world does not understand nor appreciate that love. To the masses that love seems almost as if it is a foreign language spoken to confuse; when confronted with the love of God, they do double takes and struggle to keep their balance! Why can the world not, at least in part, comprehend and appreciate the love of God? We address this question as we complete this mini-series.

On the night of His betrayal, an interesting exchange took place between Jesus and Jude. Note carefully the words; Jesus speaks first: "‘He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him. Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, ‘Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.’" (John 14.21-24).

Jude’s question: "How is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?" Jesus’ response interestingly intertwines love and submission. The world’s definition of love is generally antagonistic toward the definition implied by His response. To the world, love implies carefree, almost capricious, relationships with no rules except the ones that promote the "no rules" atmosphere. To Jesus, the love of God was the exact opposite; it involves submission and honor and willing constraint. But note further: "We will come to him and make Our home with him [i.e. the one who loves Jesus]." Focus on this statement.

The "We" of the previous quote is a plural pronoun and it requires an antecedent. Who is the "We" of this text? This is no mystery if one simply reads the text. The pronoun "We" obviously refers to Jesus and to His Father. "We [the Father and the Son] will come to Him and make Our home with him [the one who loves Jesus]." Remember that this statement was made in response to the question, "How is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?" Further, remember that the thrust of today’s message is to explore the question, "Why can the world not, at least in part, comprehend and appreciate the love of God?" We will take up this question in the next installment.

This mini-series will end with the next message but it simply cannot end without noting a marvelous truth. In John 14, Jesus told His disciples that He was going away but not to worry because "…in My Father’s house are many mansions [dwelling places]" and He was going to prepare a place for them (see John 14.1-3). Almost in the next breath, He told His disciples that He and the Father would come and "make Our home [dwelling place]" with those who love Him. Note! He went away to prepare a home for us but He also went away so we could prepare a home for Him and His Father. We do this by conditioning our hearts with love!

Questions:

1. According to Jesus’ statements in the focus text, what does one do who loves Him?

2. According to Jesus’ statements in the focus text, what conclusion can one reach about a person who does not keep [respect and obey] the words of Jesus?

3. According to Jesus in the focus text, whose word was He speaking when He spoke these words?

4. If love does what is right regardless of the polls, what is it that follows the polls? Even if you cannot name it, what is it NOT?

"God's Words For US" from Cecelia Lester

The Importance of Prayer