Jude 1:21 Commentary and Bible Study

The third pillar is to keep ourselves in the love of God. There is a lot of objection to this statement. How can you keep yourself in the love of God when you are always in the love of God? But you can and you must or Jude would not be inspired to give this exhortation. Yes, in a sense God’s love is always upon his people, but we are talking here about tasting, experiencing, feeling, the effects of the love of God. God will not smile upon you so that you consciously know his blessing and his benefits if you are in a sinful state and condition.‘If ye keep my commandments,’ says Christ, ‘ye shall abide in my love.’ So the first way of doing this is by obedience to him. But how else can I be conscious in the love of God? By not thinking over much about my hardships and difficulties. If I wallow in self-pity and I am constantly rehearsing my difficulties or the unfairnesses that have been inflicted upon me, I shut myself off from appreciation of the love of God. So if we have got unfortunate things to sort out, you cannot dismiss them, but you must ration the time you give to them and the thinking about them, and not let them dominate your thought agenda because you will lose touch with your blessedness in Christ. Calvary love is the best to reflect upon. Deepen your love and keep it alive in your mind and heart. We particularly keep in view the last day, the grand objective, and we will come to that in a moment with Jude’s doxology.