We love Him because He first loved us.
Yoḥanan (John) focuses much of his teachings on the theme of love! A key chapter is Yoḥanan 15, in which Messiah introduces the parable of the vine. He says that He is the True Vine, and we should abide in Him and bear fruit. By the end of this talk, He reinforces the importance of love, which is the underlying theme for the entire body of commandments given to Moshe in the wilderness. Some of these commandments were temporary and ceremonial, pointing forward to the greatest manifestation of love of all time: YAH’s giving of His Only Son, in place of us, pardoning us from sin and the second death, which is the fate of the unrepentant. Messiah focuses our attention on what it truly means to stay in the vine, to remain in His love, and to love each other, just as He has loved us.
This is a very fitting reflection as we draw near to this year’s Passover observance, when we focus on Messiah’s giving of His sinless body (the unleavened bread) and his precious blood (the unfermented 100% blood of grapes) in the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread celebrations.
Through Messiah, we are one Body as children of the Most High YAH: “And because you are sons, Alahym sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father’ (Gal 4:6)!”
