March 9
“I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you,” John 14:18.
Prior to telling His disciples that He would not treat them as orphans – that is, as children whose parents are dead – Jesus assured them that His ears would be open to hear and answer their prayers. “Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it,” John 14:13-14. This was a comforting promise to the troubled disciples, who had been told that Jesus was soon going to withdraw His visible presence on earth and return to the Father in heaven.
However, at the same time, Jesus told them to show their true love for Him who first loved them. Their love was to be demonstrated by living according to God’s commandments. “If you love Me, keep My commandments,” John 14:15. Our love for our Lord should be shown in the way we live, speak, and act in all our contacts and dealings with our families, our friends and acquaintances, and our fellowmen.
The apostle John was also moved by the Holy Spirit to write about our love for our Lord and others in his First Epistle: “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome,” 1 John 5:2-3.
In order to love God and to love one another, the Lord Jesus knows that we need help, and He promised that help to His disciples and us. He said, “I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever – the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you,” John 14:16-17. The Holy Spirit through the Word of God brings us to faith and keeps us in the faith. And faith is demonstrated by love. With reference to the Savior, the apostle John wrote, “We love Him because He first loved us,” 1 John 4:19.
We should ponder and meditate regularly and frequently on how much Jesus loves us. His love for us sinners was demonstrated in the price He paid to redeem us. He went the way of sorrows. He was ridiculed, rejected, crowned with thorns, condemned, and crucified. Why did He suffer such a sacrifice? He was the sinless Son of God, but He had taken upon Himself the sins of all – your sins and mine, the sins of all people who had ever lived, who were living then, who are living now, and who will live in the future.
Go to the foot of Calvary’s cross and behold the love of the Lord Jesus, who shed His holy precious blood that we might live. “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” I John 3:1. Yes, Scripture clearly teaches that we are children of God by faith in Christ Jesus; we are not orphans!
With the hymnist, we say:
“When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of Glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a tribute far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.” Amen.