THE DISCIPLE WHOM JESUS LOVED

Jesus had many very positive things to say about his disciples. At one time He called them friends (Jn. 15:15). At another time, He gave them the indwelling Holy Spirit (Jn. 20:22) to help guide them as He watched over them. At a special time, John described himself as, “There was at the table reclining in Jesus bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved." - John 13:23 (ASV). It was perhaps a moment of self-realization of the special relationship He had with God Himself. God had decided long before that He would reveal His kingdom this way for a group of people who would accept Him as their God. Later theologians refer to this chosen group of people as predestined for certain actions (Eph. 1:5). Included in this description is many of the plans for this group of people. This person named John is the same man Jesus assigned to care for His mother (Jn. 19:26). It is important for us to consider the relationship we have with the Father and Jesus. It is a recreated and sealed relationship. We have been adopted as fully equal heirs with Jesus (Gal. 3:26) in God’s kingdom. 

One of the tragedies of the story of the brother older than the Prodigal son was his misunderstanding of his place in the Father’s view. When challenged, the Father described his view of the older son as, “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead [separated from us] and is alive [united with us] again; he was lost [separated from us] and is found [united with us].’” (Lk. 15:31-32 (NIV). In this case, it was only after a family struggle that the older son realized his place in his Father’s estimation of him. As Christians, we need to read the scripture, remember, and accept what the Holy Spirit has caused to be written about us; God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit love us very deeply and we have a special place promised to us at the end time. We need to set aside those feelings of doubt that can creep into our thinking. Yes, we were sinners and continue to sin, but with our adoption we have an awesome promise, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” 1 Jn. 1:7 (KJV). Please note that strange word, “cleanseth”, that means we are continually cleansed every moment of every day; we are perpetually clean. It is because of this action we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit which means God is an integral part of our existence. How we view ourselves is crucial to our service to God. Sometimes, when we become disappointed like the Prodigal’s older brother, we develop a very negative view of ourselves. Surveys have shown there are millions of other Christians who struggle with really believing, accepting, and enjoying the love of God for them, and these are the ones who will admit this.  Perhaps, you easily believe God loves others, but you have extreme difficulty believing God could love you, knowing in detail, all the bad things you have ever done, and especially those done since you became His child. How could Jesus possibly love me? Perhaps when you felt you were in a dark place, you have even dwelled on Jesus’ words at His crucifixion, “And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" But in reality, Jesus was quoting Psalms 22, probably for comfort. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest. Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises[a] of Israel. In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. Now notice the context of these words, Jesus knew the ability of God to rescue those who trusted God.  Or perhaps you have thought, if Jesus loved me once, He probably stopped doing so. However, the fact is that He loves you so much He willingly died for you on the cross, all the while knowing what you would do in the future. At these times, we need to remember or be reminded, that as God’s child you are not a person in whom he is sorely disappointed because of your continual sin; He neither loathes you nor is greatly displeased with you. You are not merely tolerated; you are loved, no matter how many sins you have committed. With love there is a degree of acceptance accompanied with an intense desire for you to become more like Jesus, at a pace that is best for you. You are a unique individual and the indwelling Holy Spirit will not force you to change, but He will help you in the ways best for you when you ask for His help. You are a disciple whom Jesus loves!