Loving and Keeping

Observe. Jesus says that whoever has his commands and keeps them is the one who loves him, and that the one who loves him will be loved by the Father, and Jesus will love that person and show himself to them. Judas, not Iscariot, asks why Jesus will show himself to them and not to the world. Jesus answers that anyone who loves him will obey his teaching, the Father will love that person, and they will come and make their home with them. Anyone who does not love him will not obey. The words are not Jesus' own but the Father's.

Interpret. The question from Judas is about visibility. Why would the risen Jesus be seen by a few and not by everyone? Jesus answers by redefining the seeing. He is not talking chiefly about a public appearance but about a shared life. Where there is love shown in obedience, God takes up residence. That is how Jesus will be seen, from within a household of loyal love, and not by a spectacle imposed on people who do not want him. Obedience is not a test to pass but the natural expression of love, and it is the setting in which God's presence becomes real.

Apply. This passage does not let us separate warm feelings toward Jesus from the plain business of doing what he said. Is there a command of Jesus you have been treating as optional while still calling yourself his friend? Where have you expected to feel God's presence without the obedience that he links to it? And what would it mean this week for God to make his home with you, in the ordinary rooms of your life?