Live to Love Scripture Encouragement

John 16:7 But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.”
How important the truth is, indeed! Jesus was going to the Father who had sent Him to make a way so that He could be with us forever! Remember what He had said only minutes before. “I will ask the Father, and He will send you another Helper, that He may be with you forever. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” (Jo. 14:16, 18). Compare the two statements. In this verse, Jesus said that He will send the Helper to them. In 14:16, He said that the Father will send the Helper to them. Which is it? As we have learned, it is both the Father and the Son who send the Helper to us. They are distinct, yet one. But more to Jesus’ point, Jesus could not and would not be with us if He had not come to earth to bear our sin and shame and offer Himself as a sacrifice according to the will of His Father. In this we see what love is. Laying down one’s life for His friends and then coming to be with them in order to help them do what the Father commands, namely, to believe in the Son and love as He loves. Thank you, Jesus, for first coming to help us by removing our sins, and then coming to be with us forever for the purpose of loving through us for God’s glory.

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com

John 16:5-6 "But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, 'Where are You going?' But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.
Had the disciples been tuned in to what was happening with Jesus, they would have asked Him where He was going? Instead, apparently all they could think of was the loss and disappointment they were going to experience. This is natural for us all. It is supernatural for us to be Christ-conscious and ask Him questions like, “Where are You going? What do You think? What do You want to do now? What opportunity lies before Him to glorify His Father in my life?” These are questions we ask when we are living to love with Him.

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com

John 16:5 "But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, 'Where are You going?'
Most of the time when we talk of Jesus’ return, we are thinking of His return to earth. In this verse we know Jesus was referring to His return to His Father in heaven. He was sent by the Father to be the way, the truth, and the life and to be the only way for fallen, sinful human beings to be reconciled to God. He was sent to make atonement for sins and to return to His Father with the only acceptable sacrifice—His life in this world. The point here is He came to do the Father’s will. Hebrews 10:7 "Then I said, 'Behold, I have come (In the scroll of the book it is written of Me) To do Your will, O God.'" And the disciples knew this because they did not ask were He was going.
Our salvation was willed and designed by our Father because He is love: the sustained direction of His will toward our highest, no matter what the cost. To Him be the glory.

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com

John 16:4 “But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. These things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.”
We are witnessing an age of apostasy and hostility toward the gospel. Many fall away because they were told that if they accept Jesus they will have a good and happy life. Then when persecution or trials occur, they are not prepared and get offended at God, the church, and believers. In this verse we see the truth. As long as Jesus was with them, the hatred of the world was focused on Him. So it was not the time to tell them of the hatred, trials, and rejection they were going to experience. But now that He was leaving them, they were entering the last days of great tribulation. What should be our response? To trust Him and obey His command to love with Him.

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com

John 16:3 “These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me.”
Why can we expect to be rejected, cast out, and possibly killed by others who think they are serving God? We can expect it because they do not know the Father or Jesus, His Son. Again, John applied this truth in his first epistle. “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him” (1 Jo. 3:1). If they know Jesus, they know the Father. If they know them, they know the children of God. God is love. Jesus revealed the Father’s love. His children live to love with Jesus. The children know one another because they are siblings, having received their life and love from the same Father. Since the world doesn’t know the Son, they cannot know the Father. They are from a different father, and therefore, the children of God are aliens to them. They are strangers and enemies to their family and values in this world. Therefore, since they live their lives to love the world with its lusts and pride, we can expect them to want to cancel or kill us as a service to their god. This was not spoken to discourage us. We should all the more live each day looking for those God puts in our paths to love with His love.

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com