The Highest State of Christian Life

"If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love." (John 15:10)

Jesus is giving His disciples the final message. He is telling them about the highest state of Christian life. To abide in God's love is the highest state. If you abide in His love, it will be good for you, your family and the society in which you live. Jesus was trying to lead His disciples to a place where they would permanently abide in His love, just as the tree always abides in the support of its roots. It is always receiving the sap from underneath. It does not do it for just ten minutes a day. It does not do it intermittently but it is always in contact with the roots. The vine branch is also like that. If you abide like that, you will be a power. You will bear much fruit. "This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you" (John 15:12). Some wonderful transformation takes place in the human nature and it becomes divine nature.

"As it is written, There is none righteous, no not one" (Romans 3:10). That is the natural life. That poisonous nature is there. It will surface one day or other. The whole world is full of it. But we may not know it. Abel and Cain were loving brothers. But Cain did not know that he would go down to the dangerous level of killing his brother. We do not know to what depths we will go. Man does not know himself. The Bible says that we have a poisonous nature. We have heard that some sons killed their fathers; why? Would they have ever thought so? But murder is in the heart of man. It has not been displaced by love-seeds of Christ. It has not been displaced by the fear of God. The fear of God develops into faith in God. That faith develops into divine love. When you get that love, you do not know why you are ready to die for others. That is the love of God. You are ready to deny yourself to any extent. Jesus takes the poison from us and gives us His divine nature. The murderous nature is taken away and the sacrificial nature is given. That is the love-nature.