The Way, Love actually
Think back to your school days…for some a very distant memory, others much more recent, some still at school.
Teachers: the good, the bad and the ugly!
Some you really liked/loved, some you disliked/hated, some you can barely remember.
The ones you disliked, scared of, workout out of fear – I certainly did. I hated those lessons, I did the homework with dread and I ended up hating that subject, ditched them at the first opportunity.
The ones you liked/loved, flourished even if I wasn’t particularly good at that thing. A joy to go to those lessons, enjoyed the homework, kept at it out of respect for the teacher, remembered lots cos they inspired me, took those subjects further
Judas (not the betrayer -there were two!) asked Jesus a question, and Jesus’ answer was a statement: if anyone loves me, they will obey my teaching. 
The Message paraphrases it: If anyone loves me, they will carefully keep my word.
When you love someone, you want to do/be the best for them. 
Jesus is the ultimate example of love, relationship with the Father led him to the Cross. 
Love isn’t easy. Anyone who has ever loved will know that!
I support SAFC - Sunderland Athletic Football Club. The fanzine is called ALS, A Love Supreme. If I supported SAFC out of duty I would have given up on my team long ago.
If we do things out of duty, we become resentful and eventually give up. A relationship out of duty will eventually break down when things are tough, when demands seem too big.
The apostle Paul talks about the difference between doing things out of love and out of duty. In his first letter to the Christians living at Corinth he says – I can say all the right things, make all the right noises but if I don’t actually do it out of love then I’m actually just making a load of noise, a racket, a load of show. A load of hot air.
Obey my teaching/carefully keep my word. Pay attention to what Jesus has really said, and act on it. So that it impacts how we live.
We will come to Him and make our home with Him/we’ll move right into the neighbourhood. What a promise!
This is the Creator of the universe. He’ll move in with us.
You know when you have guests to stay, you do some tidying and cleaning and prepare a room for them. Perhaps cook special meals. Everything in the house can keep it up for a few days. If someone were to move in with us after a while revert to being messy and arguing etc and cooking usual boring dinners, can’t keep it up. 
When God moves in with us, it’s into all areas of our lives. There’s no compartmentalising our lives
Don’t keep him in the guest room – let him into the mess and reality of life.
Again, Saint Paul writes, not that to the Christians who loved in Rome. Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. 
So, here’s what I want you to do, God helping you – take your everyday, ordinary life, your sleeping, eating, going to work and walking around life and place it before God…. 
You know those plastic lunch boxes that have dividers that can be taken out? They keep food nicely compartmentalised so it doesn’t get all mixed up? Imagine our lives like that. A nice ordered God bit, and then in a separate compartment a work bit and a third part our relationships. Paul says take out the dividing inserts. God wants the whole contents of your lunch box. 
Loving Jesus, following his teaching and God moving in with us means that we let him have an impact on the messy parts of our lives, not just the polished, cleaned, respectable bits. We offer it all to him. Not the cleaned up version we want others to see, but the messy bits, the dark cupboards where we hide stuff away
Loving Jesus also means all life decisions we make subject to him. If God has moved in with us then he has access to our work, our social life our relationships, our finances.

Don’t wait until things are easier, better, different. The Holy Spirit helps us, prompts us, reminds us.
And Jesus gives us his peace.

LizClayton@ChesterRoadBaptist.org.uk 
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