Well, this is significant.

 

John 14:15-24

 If you agapate me, said Jesus, you will keep MY commandments.  agaph, as in God with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength.  If we love God with agaph - committed action on behalf of God – we will keep JESUS’ commandments.  Indeed, if we faithfully fulfill that commandment to agaph God, then we will keep Jesus’ commandments to agaph neighbor as self.

 Jesus OWNS the commandments.  They are HIS.  Loving God and loving Neighbor is what it is all about – life with God, faithfulness to God and faithfulness to Neighbor as self.  All else is commentary. 

 Jesus repeated this again, that the ones who have His commandments and keep them are those who agapwn Him.  He adds that they are the ones the Father will love.  Faithfulness to Jesus’ Way of agaph is faithfulness to God.

 Again, Jesus offered that those who agapa Him keep HIS WORD.  His Word is the Gospel of agaph. His Word is the Good News of life, life abundant and life forever in John’s Gospel.  If we keep His Word, Jesus and the Father will dwell with us. 

 Finally, if we do NOT agapwn Jesus, we will NOT keep HIS WORDS, words that have come from the Father.  Faithfulness to Jesus’ Way, Will and Word is faithfulness to the Father.

 There is no third way.  If we love Jesus we will live the agaph that Jesus taught, commanded and modeled for us to live. If we do not love Jesus, we will not.  If we make the living of agaph our way of life, we are faithful to God.  If we do not, we cannot be right with God.

 Jesus is the Lord of my life.  Jesus is my authority on how to live in this part of God’s Kingdom, here and now, faithful to God.  Jesus’ Way is my way.  The agaph taught, commanded and modeled by Jesus, as we have witness in the Gospels, is THE WAY to be faithful to God and Neighbor.  This is deeply personal to Jesus, and it is deeply personal to me.  All else is commentary.  Jesus did not say that we should Worship Him.  Jesus did not say that we should Praise Him.  Jesus did not say that we should Tithe Him.  Jesus did not say that we should defend Him or judge others on whether or not they profess His name.  Jesus commanded us to live agaph and to make disciples (student followers) of His Way of transforming the world in that agaph.

 So, you can choose to follow the IDOL Jesus of self-righteous judgment, American patriotism, prosperity, churchmanship and power, status and wealth above others that some have re-created in the image of empire, or you can get with the Jesus who wants us to actively commit our lives to the Shalom of all in the world through the living of His agaph.  These are two, VERY DIFFERENT propositions.  We must choose one to whom we will give our devotion.  With the one comes more of the same empire way that has attempted to own, control and destroy the world since the first empire.  With the other comes the Way of agaph which leads us to Tikkun Olam, the repair of the world by the transformation of lives, the church, communities and the world.

 God so loves the world to make this all about agaph in Jesus.  We are commanded to love the world AS love for God. We either will or we will not love Jesus by loving Neighbor as self.