3M Reflection & Hymn - Remain in My Love (John 15: 9:17)

Remain in My Love - John 15: 9:17 Easter Week 6, Thursday We support the Delany Foundation which subsidises education and social projects in Kenya, Ghana, and Papua New Guinea. Please feel free to make a donation. And please feel free not to. If you do, please include "3M" with your surname. www.delanyfoundation.org.au 0:00 Begin 1:12 Reflection 3:45 Hymn Reflection Jesus speaks to His disciples not as servants who merely obey commands, but as friends who are invited into the very heart of divine love. “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Remain in my love.” These words reveal the deepest truth of the Christian life: faith is not simply about rules, duty, or outward religion. It is about living within a relationship of love that flows from the Father through Christ into the hearts of His people. To remain in Christ’s love is to allow His presence to shape every part of our lives. It means learning to see others with compassion, to forgive when forgiveness is difficult, to remain faithful when hope feels weak, and to trust that God is always near even in uncertainty. Jesus does not promise an easy path, but He promises that His joy can remain within us. This joy is deeper than happiness. It is the quiet strength that comes from knowing we are loved eternally. The commandment Jesus gives is both simple and demanding: “Love one another as I have loved you.” Christ’s love is self-giving, patient, merciful, and sacrificial. It reaches outward toward the lonely, the wounded, the forgotten, and the fearful. In every act of kindness, every gesture of reconciliation, every moment of compassion, the love of Christ becomes visible in the world again. Jesus also reminds His disciples that they are chosen. Their lives are meant to bear lasting fruit. The Christian vocation is not passive. We are called to become signs of God’s love in the modern world — within families, workplaces, communities, and the wider Church. When believers remain close to Christ, His love continues to transform hearts and renew the world through them. Let us pray. Lord Jesus Christ, You have called us not servants but friends, and You invite us to remain always in Your love. Teach us to love with generous hearts, to forgive with patience, and to serve with humility and compassion. When fear or division weaken us, fill us again with the joy that comes from Your presence. Help us to bear lasting fruit through lives of kindness, mercy, and faithfulness. May Your Spirit guide Your Church in every age, so that Your love may shine through us before the world. Remain with us always, Lord Jesus, for without You we can do nothing. Amen. Hymn: Remain in My Love Verse 1 As the Father’s love surrounds Me, So My love now rests on you; Do not fear the night around you, I remain forever true. Stay within this gift of mercy, Let your weary hearts be strong; For the joy the Father gives Me Now shall be your lasting song. Verse 2 Love one another with compassion, As I freely loved you first; Show My mercy to the broken, Bring My hope where hearts still thirst. In the stranger and the lonely, In the fearful and the weak, You will find My hidden presence Every time My love you speak. Chorus Remain in My love forever, Walk beside Me day by day; I have called you now My own ones, And My light shall guide your way. Bear the fruit of faithful kindness, Let My peace within you stay; Remain in My love forever, And My joy will light your way. Verse 3 I no longer call you servants, For My heart to you is known; You are friends within My kingdom, Never shall you walk alone. I have chosen you to follow, Called to bear enduring fruit; Through the Spirit working in you, Hearts of mercy shall take root. Verse 4 When the world grows cold with anger, When division clouds the land, Be My witnesses of healing, Walk together hand in hand. Through your kindness shine My presence, Through your courage speak My name; Till the whole world sees My goodness Burning brightly like a flame. Bridge Stay with Me through every season, Trust the love that will not end; For the Father walks beside you, And in Me you find your friend. Final Chorus Remain in My love forever, Walk beside Me day by day; I have called you now My own ones, And My light shall guide your way. Bear the fruit of faithful kindness, Let My peace within you stay; Remain in My love forever, And My joy will light your way.