John 15:9 (ESV) … “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.”
Some of these statements of the Lord Jesus are so familiar to us we lose all sense of the wonder of them. How much does the Lord love us? As much as the Father loves him. How much does the Father love him? With measureless love, without beginning or end.
There stood Simon Peter, about to deny him, and Thomas, so full of doubts, and Philip, wanting to see things eternal, immortal, and invisible when all the time they were plainly set before his face. There were James and John, the “sons of thunder,” and Matthew, not long ago a common publican, and Simon Zelotes, not far removed from nationalistic fanaticism.
Jesus looked at them. He said, I love you men. I love you very much. I love you as much as my Father loves me. I love you with an everlasting love, with love that is stronger than death, with love that many waters cannot quench, neither can floods drown. His heart went out to them in a surge of emotion as they crowded around him, making their way to the brook of Kidron, the slopes of Olivet and Gethsemane.[1]
How does Jesus feel about us? The same way! He loves us just as much as he loves the Father and the Father loves him. God loves us with a measureless love, without beginning or end.
[1] Phillips, J. (2009). Exploring the Gospel of John: An Expository Commentary (Jn 15:9a). Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp.
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