God woo’s with love not power – love will remain.

For several  mornings now I have been meditating on the words in John 15:4  “Remain in me, and I will remain in you”. My meditation led me to Christ’s plea to the church in Ephesus to remember and return to their first love for him.

Maybe these words are an invitation not a command. The love of God inviting me to come into the very essence of who He is. God is all-power, all-knowing, and all-present; but these attributes of God are expressed consistent with who he is; which is love; pure, holy, good, love. And love is always vulnerable. Have you noticed that God refuses to woo us with his power? He woo’s with his love and mercy, which we see in the cross!

In Matthew 26:52-53 Jesus said to Peter. “Put your sword back in its place” and “Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more then twelve Legions of angels? (We’re talking over 50,000 angels) Is he saying? I’m not going to woo and win through displays of power and control; I’m going to woo the hearts of men through compassion.

Wooing with love

The cross was love in action. As John 3:16 declares; “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” And Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

God’s plea is ‘see my love’, then when you see it, come and remain in my love and experience  my love remaining in you. This is amazing and miraculous.

His kingdom is love

The kingdom of heaven coming on earth as it is in heaven is love. Ordinary people remaining in love with Jesus Christ, as Jesus Christ remains in love with our heavenly Father. As I write these words down, I am awed by the majestic stunning plan of God, to invite us into his love. I am in humbled, and so excited by the potential of remaining in love with Jesus Christ.

As I remain in Christ, this is my home on earth; it is mystical and real. My part is remaining in love with Christ and to let God into all I am and everything I do. I am learning as his follower to remain in his love, and to let his word become the truth that shapes me. I no longer try and follow his teachings. Do you see the difference?

My Prayer

I am praying that as you read this you will be freed from trying to be a good Christian. I am praying that you will be excited by how much God loves you.

God does not woo and impress us with his power, but as we are impressed by his love and let ourselves remain in his love, he delights in sharing his power with us. Love opens the way for me to remain in Jesus Christ, and for his power to flow into my life, making it possible for me to remain in Jesus Christ. So even my ability to simply remain in him is a gift from him. A gift I receive with a great big thank-you.

Now remain in my love. John 15:9

As I remain in his love I find myself in a safe place. My sense of home comes from being attached and dependent on Jesus as branch is attached and dependent on the vine. So staying in love with Jesus looks like staying attached, trusting Him over the circumstances that surround and affect me. I remind myself that I am loved and see myself resting attached and receiving the flow of love and life from Jesus Christ.

Remaining in him informs me of who I am and am becoming. I was orphaned from God, but now I am adopted as his child and live and act as a beloved child. I remind myself ‘I am a beloved, desired, delighted in child of the good God who cares for me.’

To remain is to continue in love. I don’t start with love and continue with duty. Day after day through time I live by faith in the love of God revealed in Jesus Christ.  When I feel unloved, unwanted, over-looked, I remind myself I am seen and chosen and wanted by God who has demonstrated his love for me in Christ. And I choose to remember and remain trusting his love for me.

Affirmation to help us remain in love

You might want to use these affirmations to enhance your faith that remains resting and growing in Christ.

  • I am attached and at rest in Christ as branch remains attached at rest in the vine.
  • I am one with the love of God in Christ, I see myself as his child bearing good fruit he has planned of me.
  • I continue to trust and hope in God’s great love towards me, I love him because he first loved me.

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