Love and the Holy Ghost!

The other day I am reading through the Bible quite randomly and realized I was reading Jesus' last words to His disciple before his trip to Calvary. John chapters 14 through 17 give the account of the last time Jesus addresses His disciples in the close, intimate way that he had for years. This thought brought to mind the movies I have seen where the elderly patriarch of a family, lying on his death bed, calls his children to him so he can address them for the last time. The things he will share are going to be the most important words he can impart. The final thoughts he wants to leave with his loved ones. And it occurs to me that this is where Jesus is in this passage. He knows what is about to take place in the garden at Gethsemane, He knows what the next several days have in store for Him. And the topics He chose to speak about must be of great importance, so I want to pay close attention!
As I am reading with the intention of discovering what these "most important" subjects are, two things pop out at me over and over. These two subjects are: 1) the gift of the Holy Spirit (Jesus refers to Him as the comforter, the helper and a guide), 2) the commandment to love one another. Rather than me go through these scriptures line by line and point out each of these, I challenge each of you to go read John Chapters 14 through 17 with these thoughts in mind: these are Jesus' "parting words" to His disciples, what does He say about the Holy Spirit as pertains to our daily walk, what does He say about loving each other.
One other thing stood out to me about these two topics. In my life and in the lives of those closest to me, these two things are daily taken for granted. We overlook these two overwhelmingly important subjects regularly. But, they are both something that will absolutely change your life, from the inside out (literally), if you live your life the way Jesus instructed.
How often do we struggle with decisions and difficulties in life, while not recognizing that the very Spirit of God Himself dwells inside us. He knows the answers to every question, He knows where every crossroad at every intersection of life leads, He knows everything about everything! And yet we, who have been so mightily blessed with this gift, stumble blindly through life stubbing our toes and bumping our heads at every turn. Simply ridiculous! You have God in you!
And love.....what a game-changer that is! If we would simply love one another, as He COMMANDED (not suggested), what a difference in life that would make! I used one of our teens as an example in class this morning, demonstrating how the "love of God being shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost" will change you completely. A year ago this young man did not love people. Truth be told, he quite disliked most people and he certainly was not concerned about their lives, their needs, their struggles or even their souls. Something changed, radically changed, when God really got hold of him last Summer. Suddenly, he began to care about people. Not just his friends at school, not just his family, not just the folks sitting next to him at church......but PEOPLE! All people. I can remember the Sunday several months ago when he came to me after the morning service and with great excitement and great compassion told me he wanted to start a neighborhood outreach because "we need to go get the people who are lost!" What an amazing God we serve. He puts His love in us so we can share that love with everyone around us. If you struggle with loving people, ask God to put His love in you. He will absolutely do it! "The purpose of our purpose is PEOPLE!" (Thank you Pastor Steve)
So there you have it, your assignment, your challenge, if you will. Go read John chapters 14 through 17 with these things in mind. It was important to Jesus, it should be important to us. DO IT NOW!!