Jesus is the head of the body and He sets the agenda for our lives and it cannot be overlooked. Jesus informed us that the greatest commandment of all is Love. We must love God, love others, and yes, we must love the world. As disciples of Jesus, we must be drawn back to these three commitments frequently. These three priorities are emphasized frequently in scripture. One of the most profound places is in John 17 in the passage known as the Upper Room Discourse. He begins with the first commitment of “abiding in Him.” We must refresh our love for God continually. He then moves on the love for each other, then finally he addresses our need to relate to the world. Our lives should be balanced in these areas.

In our Sunday morning worship services we try to refresh our love for God through praise, testimony, and focus on God’s word. These services are more vertically focused. We want all to experience one-to-one contact with God Himself. But we need a second level of contact to help fulfill the second priory of loving others. The focus of our smaller Sunday School classes is to divide the larger group into smaller groups where more intimate relationships can begin to developed. From these groups small groups are formed where each believer has the opportunity to be intimately known and loved by others.  But, from these small groups we desire to move believers on to focus on others by serving and sharing. We love the world when we use our gifts to serve others and to reach the world for Christ.

Ray Ortland observed that “Christ’s own personal relationships corresponded to these three priorities. During His final prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, He communed first with His Father (John 17:1–5). He then interceded for His own (17:6–19), and finally He prayed for the world (17:20–26).”

Every disciple must love God, love others, and love the world.

Chuck

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.” John 15:9