Eternity Daily Bible StudyThe Importance Of LoveNumber:06er!e!:"ohn #$:$%&$'&"ohn #':#(Topic:Di!ciple! ) Lover!Date: *$rd "uly *0##"ohn #$:$%&$'A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; just as Ihave loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.""ohn #':#(hese things I command you, that you love one another.The outward, world-facing, sign of truly following Christ, is having love for one another. If we have love for another everyone out there will know that we are for real as Christians. If we don't love one another, and just bicker, suabble, divide and engage in law-suits against each other, then the world will call us just a bunch of hy!ocrites"If you have love, then you are a disci!le of #esus Christ the $a%arene. If you don't have love, then you are not Christ's disci!le.&ou 'ight be the disci!le of a !astor or a disci!le of a theologian a deno'ination or a cult, but without love you are not Christ's disci!le.(very course on basic Christian disci!leshi! should focus on teaching Christians to love one another. )or knowledge !uffs u! but love builds u!" *+ Corinthians ,-+. so a course that is all head knowledge and does not e'!hasi%e the !ractical as!ects ofloving one another will only !roduce !uffed u! baby Christians, and not edified disci!les. /owever a course that teaches !eo!le to truly dee!ly love one another will be blessed by 0od *because it teaches !eo!le to obey /is co''and'ent. and !roduce real Christians"1eing a disci!le of #esus Christ is not about having a 'entor or an accountability !artner *rather your 'entor is the /oly 2!irit. and neither is it about returning to so'e ideal free-wheeling church structure fro' the first century.3overs are disci!les and disci!les are lovers. If your life is all about loving !eo!le then and then only are you a disci!le"2elfish religiosity and church'anshi! are not identical with disci!leshi!. 4nowing the rules of church order and the church constitution so well that you can crush all o!!osition at the 'e'ber's 'eeting is not disci!leshi! *though it 'ay 'ake you a very !owerful deacon.. 5isci!leshi! is about knowing 0od, the 0od who is love, and who wants you to love others and to have eternal life-"ohn #(:$And this is life eternal, that they !"hrist#s disciples$ might know %ou, the only true &od, and 'esus "hrist whom %ou have sent.In the 'inistry of #esus Christ there was a clear distinction between the crowds who followed /i' and the disci!les who obeyed /i'. The crowds ca'e to be healed and bed fed and to hear stories and ser'ons. 6n the other hand, the disci!les were with #esus through /is trials and wanted to be /is friend, to love /i' and be loved by /i' and to do what /e did, in total obedience *e7ce!t for #udas.. The two verses below give us a bit of a gli'!se into the costly and obedient friendshi! that #esus was actually looking for-Lu+e **:*,-*.%ou are those who have continued with Me in My trials.!()$And Iappoint a kingdom to you, as My *ather has appointed to Me,"ohn #':#*-#'his is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.!+,$-o one has greater love than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.!+.$%ou are My friends if you do whatever I command you.!+/$-o longer do I callyou servants, for the servant does not know what his master does. But I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My *ather I have made known to you.)riendshi! with #esus 'eans doing whatever I co''and you.It also 'eans continuing with /i' in /is trials and laying down our lives for one another. The u!side of this is that we get to know everything that #esus has heard fro' the )ather, and we are treated as 'uch 'ore than 'ere servants *who are given instructions without understanding what they 'ean. and that, after the resurrection, a kingdo' awaits us.There was no kingdo' for the selfish de'anding crowds. In fact it was taken away fro' the' and given to others *3uke 89-+:.. ;ithout love they beca'e nothing.her church, and has few disci!les, can e7!ect to get crucified. ;henever #esus wanted to turn a follower into a disci!le /e set the' a challenge of renunciation in the na'e of !ractical love.)or instance in ?atthew +@ the Aich &oung Auler is asked to sell all and give it to the !oor and follow #esus, and later on in that sa'e cha!ter Beter indicates that he has forsaken all things to follow Christ *?atthew +@-+:-C9.. 6ther e7a'!les are Daccheus, ?atthew's call, and the sacrifices 'ade by the early a!ostles and Christian co''unities. 0od calls us out of our selfish co'fortable e7istences to forsake all things for the sake of 0od's love.5isci!leshi! E living in sacrificial aga!e love when we do that everyone will know that we are true followers of #esus Christ the 3ord"1lessings,#ohn (d'iston *johnedFaibi.!h.Chair'an> C(6GI1I>Cyber'issionswww.globalchristians.orgwww.cyber'issions.orgwww.eternitychristian.co'www.newtesta'ent!rayer.org5onate to Cyber'isisons Hia BayBal TO /ET "O0N ED1ISTON2S 3456E4 NE7S:send a blank e'ail to jednews-subscribeFyahoogrou!s.co'&ou are receiving this e'ail because you either subscribed on the website, or sent an e'ail to the subscribe address. ;e do not subscribe !eo!le without their consent.To !ub!cribe - send a blank e'ail to- eternity-dbs-subscribeFglobalchristians.orgTo un!ub!cribe - send a blank e'ail to- eternity-dbs-unsubscribeFglobalchristians.org