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Love Revisited!

In John 14:15-21, Jesus is speaking to disciples hours before the cross. He promises the Holy Spirit, and ties love for Him to love for others. Despite His love for them, we see how the entire events unfolded from His arrest, crucifixion, death to His resurrection. On the resurrection morning He proved His love beyond their expectations by revealing Himself to them (See more in Matthew 28:9-10; Luke 24:13-35; John 20:11-29; 21:1-14). 
We often preach and talk about love in our time, but we sometimes shy away from how we can prove or practice what we preach.  However, on His part Jesus isn’t talking about legalism, but He’s real and saying “If you love me, you’ll live to keep my love by showing it to everyone around you.” It’s about alignment — do your actions show you’re following His way? Does your love preach the goodnews? (of peace, justice, empathy, compasion, love for the vulnerable, etc.). Jesus' love for us embodies sacrificial love that transcends just the word of mouth (not a lip service). "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16). Love of Jesus will NEVER abandon us! - The Holy Spirit isn’t just a concept — it’s God’s active presence making His presence known with perfect love. In a world of loneliness and lack of love, Jesus is saying to us “I’m not leaving you alone because I love you.” Love of Jesus is not just for the Easter season, it means experiencing resurrection power now and always with an encounter where we see Christ in everyone everyday - in the poor, in strangers, in broken people we help along the way through love shared, etc. Resurrection power is for daily life through the love of Jesus shared with people that come across our paths. 
And as we celebrate Mother's Day this Sunday, for us to take a closer look, mothers often embody sacrificial love in many ways. Jesus says “If you love me, you’ll act like me” — so our moms too show this by all means - caring and showing up when we are messed up, weak, or needy. If you are a mother just know that God loves YOU and Jesus wants you to keep sharing and spreading your love across many boundaries. And for as a Church our application on Mother’s Day is a chance to say “We're not alone. We are loved and God's love matters to keep us going. And to Moms, Jesus sees YOU and He will keep showing up for YOU even when your hardwork is not seen or when it's overlooked. You are blessed!
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Rev. Wilson