John 15: Repetition and repetition

I'm still on the energy high that I wrote the last blog post with. I'm hoping energy and coherence are not mutually exclusive. And before you ask, I did reference an episode of Doctor Who in my post title.

In the Bible, if something is mentioned once, it's probably important. If it's mentioned twice you should underline it. If it's mentioned three times, it's really, really, really important, and you should do something like write in on a post-it note and stick it on your fridge.

In chapter 15, we get the culmination of somethings that have been mentioned before.

• We are to ask for things in Jesus' name, and we will receive them (John 14:13, 14; 15:16).
• We get told to keep Jesus' commands and to obey (John 14:15, 23-24; 15:14).
• We've also been told what one of these commands is: to love one another (John 13:34; 15:12, 17).

I love how this chapter seems to lead to the statement to love one another. If we are to be fruitful we need to remain in Jesus. If we obey Jesus' commands we'll remain in his love. And this is Jesus' command: love one another. So, to be a fruitful vine we need to love one another.

We're also told we're not mere servants, but we're Jesus' friend. This reminds me of one of my first blog posts.

Interestingly, John also wrote the letter 1 John, which is famous for its beautiful passage on love (1 John 4:7-21).

So remember: obey, ask, love.