Dear Christian friends:

There is one chief reason why we have so much trouble in the world, at home and among church members. We fight, quarrel, lie cheat and steal because we don't love one another. You can't steal from someone you love. You can't gossip or lie about someone you love. You can't quarrel with and hate someone you love. You can't refuse to help someone you love. So also you will not say, "No" to God if you really love Him.

But men don't really love God and one another. Even we Christians are very poor in loving one another. So we very much need to attend to Jesus' words in our text and receive His instruction in loving one another. In verse twelve of our text Jesus says; "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." Let this be our theme today:

He says: "This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you." Well, how did He love us? He says in verse 9; "As my Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you." The Father loved Jesus, His only Son very, very much. When John baptized Jesus, the Father spoke from heaven saying: "This is my beloved Son" and Jesus told the Jews; "The Father loveth the Son, and sheweth Him all things that Himself doeth.

It is hard for us to understand about the Father's love for His Son, but we know that the heavenly Father loves His Son more than any earthly father loves his son.

Jesus knew about His Father's great love because He read about it in the Old Testament writings of David and Isaiah. If you read the prophecy of Isaiah you, too, will begin to see the great love of the Father for Jesus His Son.

Because Jesus knew well how the Father loved Him, He was not afraid or worried about the future. He knew the Father would lead Him through much temptation, mockery, shame, and death. But He also knew that the Father would make Him rise up again and give Him glory and honor and rule everlasting. So Jesus didn't worry and be greedy or selfish about money or anything. He trusted fully in the heavenly Father's love and promises in the Holy Writings of the prophets.

So Jesus was free from worry and selfishness and He could think, not about self, but only about His disciples and people. Knowing God loved Him made him free to love others and give His life for them.

So also you and I - we can't really love anyone else until we know that God loves us and takes care of all our troubles, even our sin and the punishment of sins. When we know and believe that God has nothing against us anymore because His Son Jesus paid for us, then we feel safe and sure and know we will finally get the victory. Even if He leads us trough troubles, sickness and death, we know He never-the-less loves us and will lead us to glory.

Because we have such a satisfied faith and hope in Jesus, we can stop worrying about ourself, stop selfishness, and be free to think about others and love others.

The trouble is that we don't really believe that God loves us and forgives and will keep us and lead us through all troubles to life eternal. We begin to worry and fear about money, about friends, about bills, about sickness and enemies and failure. And when we worry, then we become selfish and greedy and quarrel and do not love others.

Why do we worry? Because we don't stay joined with Jesus' Word enough. When you ought to read your Bible, you read the newspaper or watch T.V. When you ought to be in church, you stay home and sleep or go visiting or fishing. When you ought to be studying Jesus' Words in Bible Class, you gather down stairs to smoke and visit or plan pancake suppers. How can you get Jesus' love if you don't attend to His Word?

He says in this same chapter, "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit (loves others much): for without me ye can do nothing. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." Can a branch grow grapes if it is cut off from the vine? So you can't love one another, if you are disconnected from Jesus and His Words.

Maybe you think that you do love one another, but I see little, very little here. Oh, yes you invite another church member to eat with you, and then you wait for him to invite you to his home. Jesus said, When you make a dinner don't invite your friend, because he will pay you back, even robbers and unbelievers do that, help one another. But when you make a dinner invite the poor and the needy and those who can't pay you back. That will prove whether you love or not.

When you give a present to your pastor, that doesn't prove your love. I am your friend and I can pay you back through my ministry. Don't give to me, give to missions, they can't pay you back; give to refugees in Europe and Asia, they can't pay you back.

We love our friends, but Jesus says, "love your enemies. Do good to them that hate you." That's what He did for us. While we were His enemies He died for us, Paul says.

If we want to love one another we must first receive His love. This we do through His Word and Holy Supper. Our special Lenten Services on Wednesday help us to receive His great love for us. Don't miss them. If you don't attend to Jesus' Word you will be like a branch cut off and dying - no love for others.

If you attend to His Word you will be like a branch joined to the vine growing much fruit - loving others very much.

Amen!