What day is it?! I find that with this new bizarre normal that we are living, I often can't remember what day it is. I keep turning to my phone's home screen to figure it out. During the last few days of March, I kept asking myself, "Is it still March?" Feeling as though March 2020 was the longest month of recorded human history. We are now in April, and on April Fool's Day, I kept wanting to hear that this was all a joke so that we could go back to our "normal" lives. But alas, I'm writing this on April 2, 2020, and we are still in quarantine trying to flatten the curve to slow the spread of COVID-19. How long will all of this last? The truth is that we do not know. Governmental leaders, scientists, public health experts, et cetera, are all at a loss. Will all things COVID-19 drag on forever? I don't know, but it feels like it will last forever. During all of this, I'm still processing Jesus' final days. I'm continuing my study of the last several chapters of Jesus' life in the Gospel of John, trying to find anchors of hope to help us navigate these strange days. What hope does Jesus leave us? What can we hold onto with the faith that we have left? I imagine that Jesus' final evening felt like it was dragging on forever. Knowing that very soon, He would become a prisoner of church and state. As we read through His conversations with the disciples in John 14, Jesus gives them lots of hope for the future. Last week, we focused on what He told them about not letting our hearts be troubled. Jesus reminded us that we could make it through troubling times by believing that He is our Savior. Then, Jesus tells the disciples the following: "If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them" (John 14:15-21, New Living Translation). In this passage, Jesus makes a strong appeal, and He also gives us some promises. This appeal wants us to analyze our love for Him. Jesus is asking that if we love Him, then we should obey His commandments. In Christianity, the conversation about the meaning of "commandments" is loaded and complicated. For most of Christianity, we focus on the Ten Commandments and New Testament teachings but diminish Old Testament laws. Saying things like, Jesus "nailed the law to the cross." Technically speaking, Jesus didn't nail anything to the cross because the Romans nailed Him to the cross. I make this point for a reason. When we are in love with someone, we have to analyze every fiber of who we are, and then we need to spend some time figuring out if we are on the same plane with this person. This process is vital because your future, their future, and your future families' future are at stake. A poor choice will affect so much and so many. As Seventh-day Adventists, we often use John 14:15 to encourage people to keep the Sabbath commandment. However, if we are going to be intellectually honest, we have to recognize that John 14:15 is not just about the Sabbath. Furthermore, John 14:15 isn't a conversation about what commandments Jesus meant. This verse, John 14:15, is about whether or not we love Jesus. Do you love Jesus? I want to share something you already know. I love my wife. Before we were married, I lived in Oklahoma while she was still in Texas. At that time, I developed some habits about where things should go in the house where we would soon be making a home. The habit that stands out the most is my practice of placing my coat on a chair in the dining room. For me, this made perfect sense. This chair was closest to our garage door. As I came into the house, I would take off my jacket and place it on that chair. When leaving the house, I would grab my coat off the chair as I headed out to brave the world. In my opinion, this was brilliant, efficient, and convenient! Suzy didn't think so. As a result, after some conversation. I changed my practice. I'll be honest; I didn't like the change. The reason I agreed to it is simple. I love Suzy, and it was more important for me to do what she asked. I feel as though it is like this with Jesus. There are so many things that He asks us to do because we love him. If we are honest, we don't like to obey some of His commandments. Commands like, "love your enemy," "love those who hate you," "forgive them that hurt you," et cetera. I think that we see these commands as necessary. Still, we don't always like to live these out. Especially when people are awful towards us. Jesus calls us to obey, and if we love Him, we are more likely to fulfill these commands. After this appeal, Jesus gives us a promise, a promise that will never fail us. Jesus says that He will provide us with the Holy Spirit. However, Jesus uses a different name for the Spirit. Depending on your translation, the Holy Spirit is called the Advocate, the Comforter, Counselor, Encourager, to name a few. The reason that there are so many options is that the Greek word that Jesus uses is vibrant. This word is impressive by its very nature. The Greek word is "paraklēton," and it is a compound word that directly translates as "to call beside." This word choice by Jesus let the disciples know that even though He was about to leave them, through the Spirit, He would always be with them. This promise extends to us as well as we navigate these uncertain COVID-19 times. When we find ourselves anxious, we can call the Spirit to our side so that we can have comfort. When we are feeling depressed, we can call on the Spirit to encourage us. When we are not sure what to do next: Should I stay indoors? Should I go to the grocery store? Should I trust the government? Should I believe the news? Should I trust Facebook? When in doubt, we can call on the Spirit to be our counselor. As we continue to prepare for the "End Time" that Jesus talked about in Matthew 24, that we see in the books of Daniel and Revelation, then we need to focus on three things: We need to prepare by loving Jesus. We need to obey all His commands–even the hard ones. We need to call on the Spirit to be the power we need beside us. May you love Jesus more, may you obey more closely, and may you enjoy the Spirit's power beside you. Grace and Peace, Pastor Geraldo
Discussion Questions:
How do you manifest your love for Jesus?
With which of Jesus' commandments do you struggle?
Are you in the habit of calling for the Spirit to journey alongside you?