{John 15:9-14} -- Jesus said, "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you obey my commands.
Joy. Complete joy. Jesus is love. Love is the root of joy. And the roots are the foundation of life and growth. Everything depends on the roots. Without the root there can be no life for the plant.
Joy can best be described in the acronymn, Jesus ... Others ... You.
Joy, unlike happiness, is a consant state of delight and well being. Joy, unlike happiness, is not influenced by momentary conditions or experiences of emotions. Joy is much greater than happiness.
From love stems joy and from joy stems peace. The love of Jesus is the source of all joy and of all peace. His love never changes, therefore the joy he gives us endures in any situation ... all the time ... always. He clearly paints the picture of how we can experience his joy everybreath of everyday.
We must remain in him. If we love him, we will follow him. If we follow him, we will obey what he commands..
His command is not demanding nor is it complicated. His command is "Love".
The only way we can "love each other as he as loved us" is relying on the root.
Jesus is the root of all that we are. Our love. Our joy. Our peace. Our faith. Our life.
A plant doesn't work to survive or grow. Rather, it rests in the roots to provide nutrients and right conditions it needs to live and grow strong.
If your working for your own happiness, I pray that today will be the day that you stop working, and rest in the roots. I pray that today will be the day that you choose to stop "struggling, working, and striving" to provide happiness and joy in your life. I pray that today, you will rest in the love of Jesus Christ, the roots, to provide your life with the joy and peace he so desperately desires for you to have, so that you may have the nutrients you need to grow and live each day.
Rest in his love, live in his joy, dwell in his peace. For he is your roots, and he will never fail to provide all you need to live.
{John 15: 4-5} - Jesus says - "Remain in me and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in he vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remain in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
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