Receive Before You Resemble
“This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you.” - John 15:12 (CSB)
There is an order in the gospel that must never be reversed. Jesus does not say, “Love like this so that I will love you.” He says, “As I have loved you… now love.”
That order changes everything.
You do not lay down your life in order to become a friend of God. You lay down your life because you already are one. You do not sacrifice to earn salvation. You sacrifice because salvation has reshaped you.
When we reverse that order, Christianity becomes exhausting. It becomes performance. It becomes trying to measure up to a standard we cannot reach. And eventually it either produces pride or despair.
But when we keep the order right, obedience becomes response. You belong before you resemble.
This is why the cross must remain central. If you drift from it, you will begin striving again. You will start asking, “Have I loved enough? Have I surrendered enough? Have I proven myself enough?”
But the gospel says Christ proved love fully. Christ laid everything down completely. Christ reconciled you entirely.
Now the Spirit works from that foundation.
This is what transformation looks like. Not overnight perfection, but gradual resemblance. The Spirit forms in you the very love Christ displayed for you. Not flawlessly, but faithfully.
The greatest love laid itself down for you. And when that truth sinks in deeply, it loosens your grip on the things you once guarded fiercely.
So before you ask what you need to lay down, ask whether you are resting in what Christ already laid down for you.
Receive first.
Then resemble.
Reflection Question
Are you striving to prove love, or resting in the love already proven at the cross?
You belong to Jesus before you start becoming like Him.
Prayer
Father, guard me from reversing the gospel. Thank You that I am loved because of Christ, not because of my performance. Help me rest in what has been accomplished so that obedience flows from gratitude, not fear. Form in me the love of Christ by Your Spirit. Amen.
There is an order in the gospel that must never be reversed. Jesus does not say, “Love like this so that I will love you.” He says, “As I have loved you… now love.”
That order changes everything.
You do not lay down your life in order to become a friend of God. You lay down your life because you already are one. You do not sacrifice to earn salvation. You sacrifice because salvation has reshaped you.
When we reverse that order, Christianity becomes exhausting. It becomes performance. It becomes trying to measure up to a standard we cannot reach. And eventually it either produces pride or despair.
But when we keep the order right, obedience becomes response. You belong before you resemble.
This is why the cross must remain central. If you drift from it, you will begin striving again. You will start asking, “Have I loved enough? Have I surrendered enough? Have I proven myself enough?”
But the gospel says Christ proved love fully. Christ laid everything down completely. Christ reconciled you entirely.
Now the Spirit works from that foundation.
This is what transformation looks like. Not overnight perfection, but gradual resemblance. The Spirit forms in you the very love Christ displayed for you. Not flawlessly, but faithfully.
- You begin dying to ego.
- You begin surrendering control.
- You begin releasing comfort.
- You begin choosing obedience over self-preservation.
The greatest love laid itself down for you. And when that truth sinks in deeply, it loosens your grip on the things you once guarded fiercely.
So before you ask what you need to lay down, ask whether you are resting in what Christ already laid down for you.
Receive first.
Then resemble.
Reflection Question
Are you striving to prove love, or resting in the love already proven at the cross?
You belong to Jesus before you start becoming like Him.
Prayer
Father, guard me from reversing the gospel. Thank You that I am loved because of Christ, not because of my performance. Help me rest in what has been accomplished so that obedience flows from gratitude, not fear. Form in me the love of Christ by Your Spirit. Amen.
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