What’s love got to do with it! What’s love but a second-hand emotion? ~sings Tina Turner.

“What’s love got to do with it?”. Here’s what.

What sort of love do you expect?

I know One who said: “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you” ~John 15:12, NIV. But do we really love, when love is something that’s commanded? Let’s see:

I delved into this whole passage of John 15:12-17, and came up with this. It may seem very stilted – “stop and go” – to read, but it brings out the answer to the question I’ve posed above. Be blessed, aye.

“This is My commandment, that you all would be loving one another – to welcome, have hospitality and be fondly affectionate and dearly loving towards one another – just as I have at one time in the past loved you.

“Greater love has no man than this, that a man would have laid down down his life for his friends. You are My friends, if you would be doing what I am commanding you.

“I am calling you no longer slaves or servants, because the slave or servant does not know, as I do, what each one is doing.

“But, I have always called and continue to call each one of you: friends, because all the things of yours that I have at one time heard from My own Father, I have at that time made known for you all.

“You all, did not make your choice at one time in the past of Me, but I have made My firm and final choice of each of you, setting you forth so that you all would go, and may be bearing fruit: the type of fruit that would live, endure, survive and remain in waiting,

“so that

“the thing that each of you may have asked the Father, and of the Father in My name, He may have given for each of you.

“These things I am commanding for you, so that you all may be loving each other”.

There’s not a verb in there, that’s in the imperative mood! “You must love”, “You must be loving”; but all are in either the indicative: “I’m showing you something by what I’ve done or am doing”; or in the subjunctive mood: “doing this is your possibility”.

Therefore, Jesus is showing us the outcome of His love for us:

That: “you all would be loving, just as I have loved you”.

That: “I have called you and am continually calling you friends, because I want to convey to you, what I’ve heard from My Father”.

That: “I chose you because I knew that you would go and bring forth enduring fruit”.

That: “The character of your desires (the fruit you’ve borne) and the resultant prayers you’ve prayed according to those desires and longings (in My name) assures you that your prayers (asking of the Father) have been effective, knowing that you are increasing in godliness, asking what God desires and seeing its manifestation”.

Your fruit, borne of loving yourself and loving God.

A grape vine doesn’t have to try to love. It just loves being a vine and so it bears fruit.

If we love ourselves the way God loves us and has made us, then the rest is “a given”!

Through our belief in what Jesus has done for us, Holy Spirit has put the love of Christ in our hearts ~Romans 5:5.

Therefore, how could we not love one another, even as He has loved us? And as the result, how could we not find ourselves welcoming, being hospitable, and being fondly affectionate and dearly loving towards each other, just as Christ has loved us?

For Jesus is the Lamb of God who was slain from before the foundation of the world ~Revelation 13:8, NIV & note 2, and His sacrificial welcome, His courting hospitality, and His dearly affectionate love has been here from all time for us.

Even though we have just realised it lately, we are caught up with Him and with His people in the type of love He has for us. Hallelujah!

Genuine love is empowering. My God! Is it empowering! It’s revitalizing, energising. It provides an endurance that’s sometimes taken for granted. Let’s not take ourselves nor God’s love in Christ for granted.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love others as much and in the same way as you love yourself ~Bible, in the gospels. For our Saviour said that doing this, fulfills all the law and the prophets. He’s made it so easy.

For anyone who’s interested in these findings of my interpretations of this passage, the parsing of the Greek text’s verbs and some grammar indications, follow:

Abbreviations:

v: = verb

verbs’ tenses: pres. = present, perf. = perfect, aor. = aorist

verbs’ moods: ind. = indicative, subj. = subjunctive

verbs’ voices: act. = active, mid. = middle

verbs’ person: 1p = first person, 2p = second person, 3p = third person, p = plural, s = singular

nouns’ and pronouns’ cases: dat. = dative, acc. = accusative

Translation with parsings indicated:

v12 This is My commandment, that you all would be loving (v: pres., subj., active, 2pp) one another – to welcome, have hospitality and be fondly affectionate and dearly loving towards one another (Gk: meaning of agape) – just as I have at one time in the past loved you (v: ‘I have loved’, aor. indic. act. 1ps).

v13 Greater love has no man than this, that a man would have laid down (v: aor. subj. act. 3ps) his life for his friends. v14 You are My friends, if you would be doing (v: pres. subj. act. 2pp) what I am commanding you (v: pres. indic. middle, 1ps).

v15 I am calling you (verb: pres. indic. act. 1ps) no longer slaves or servants, because the slave or servant does not know (v: perfect, indic. act. 3ps) as I do (perfect tense) what each one is doing (v: pres. indic. act. 3ps).

But, I have always called and continue to call each of you (v: perfect, indic. act. 1ps) friends, because all the things of yours (‘friends’ and ‘all things’ are both in the accusative case) that I have at one time heard (v: aor. ind. act. 1ps) from My own Father, I have at that time made known (v: aor. indic. act. 1ps) for you all (dative plural pronoun).

v16 You all, did not make your choice at one time in the past (v: aro. indic. middle, 2pp) of Me, but I have made My firm and final choice (v: aor. indic. mid. 1ps) of each of you (acc. pl), setting you forth (v: aor. indic. mid. 1ps) so that you all would go (v: pres. subj. act. 2pp) and may be bearing (v: pres. subj. act. 2pp) fruit: the type of fruit that would live, endure, survive and remain in waiting (v: pres. subj. act. 3ps)

so that (conjunction)

the thing that each of you may have asked (aor. subj. act. 2pp) the Father (article), and of the Father (acc. mas. sing.) in My name, He may have given (aor. subj. act. 3ps) for each of you (dative plural).

These things I am commanding (v: pres. indic. mid., 1ps) for you (dative) so that you all may be loving (v: pres. subj. act. 2pp) each other.