Because I Love

Because I love, I Listen

John 14:15–21 NKJV

“If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

1 John 5:3 NKJV

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

John 14:15-

Because I love, I long (for God & His Word)

Psalm 42:1 NKJV

As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God.

Luke 10:39 NKJV

And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word.

Luke 10

Luke 10:38–42 NKJV

Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

:38-

Because I love, I Lift Up (Bless instead of Curse)

Because I love, I Lift Up (Bless instead of Curse)

Matthew 5:43–48 NKJV

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

James 3:1–7 NKJV

My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind.

Proverbs 18:20–24 NKJV

A man’s stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth; From the produce of his lips he shall be filled. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit. He who finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favor from the Lord. The poor man uses entreaties, But the rich answers roughly. A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Prov 18:20-24

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Because I love, I lavishly give and serve

1 John 3:1–3 NIV

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

lavish

New International Version See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

lavish

Lavish means generous and extravagant as an adjective and to give generously as a verb.

Lavish means generous and extravagant as an adjective and to give generously as a verb. If you don't like it when people lavish you with attention, you might appreciate a lavish spread of excellent food instead.

If you don't like it when people lavish you with attention, you might appreciate a lavish spread of excellent food instead.

Lavish comes from the Old French lavache meaning "deluge, torrent" referring to rain. When you see it, think of a shower of good things coming down on you as you never use lavish with something bad. Didn't your parents lavish you with praise and love when you were small? With lavish as an adjective, you can rephrase that question like this: Didn't your parents offer you lavish praise and love when you were little?

Luke 7:36-50

Luke 7:36–50 NKJV

Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.” And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” So he said, “Teacher, say it.” “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?” Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.” Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

The New Bible Commentary 12:1–8 The Devotion of Mary

12:1–8 The devotion of Mary

The incident of the anointing at Bethany is important because of its connection with the miracle of the raising of Lazarus. The specific time reference (six days before the Passover; 1) is significant for John and may be compared with the six days recorded at the commencement of the ministry. The pint of pure nard would have been a very expensive amount of ointment, as is clear from Judas’s estimate that it amounted to a year’s wages. It is probable the ointment was a liquid perfume. Although it was the normal procedure to anoint the head (as recorded in Mt 26:7; Mk. 14:3) it may be significant that John records the anointing of the feet, in view of the feet-washing incident narrated in the next chapter. In the parallel case of anointing in Lk. 7:38, it was also the feet that were anointed. However, in spite of some similarities between the two narratives, there are sufficient differences to make it unlikely that the two incidents are the same. In Luke’s record the woman is described as a sinful woman who is deeply penitent, whereas Mary of Bethany is seen as a woman deeply devoted to Jesus, and John’s picture of her agrees completely with Luke’s portrait of the same person. In both instances the woman wiped the feet of Jesus with her hair. It would have been against Jewish convention for a woman to appear in the presence of men with her hair untied, but in Mary’s case love was stronger than convention. John’s mention of the odour filling the house is a vivid eyewitness detail.

The complaint of Judas against this expensive waste (5) is fully in character with the synoptic account of him. He was stricken not only with the deadly sins of greed and covetousness, but also with dishonesty. John gives here an advance hint of the betrayal to back up his point. The expression a year’s wages (5) is lit. 300 denarii (days’ pay). Jesus’ answer, Leave her alone, it was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial (7) does not mean that Mary had some of the perfume left, but that what she had done was regarded by Jesus as for his burial. Judas was concerned, not about the perfume remaining but the perfume used. The claim that you will not always have me (8) could have been made only by a person who was unique without sounding arrogant.