27: The Father loves us! Daddy loves us. With all his heart.
21: This is so true - I have seen it happen twice with my own kids. The pain and anguish of Stephi's labor were "transformed" into joy so to speak the moment the baby was there, and were truly entirely forgotten and viewed as "more than worth it". What a great picture.
8-11: So important to remember it is God Himself who is doing the spiritual work of truly changing a person's heart, of revealing truth to them. How often I feel like I need to attempt to do that in a teaching or when leading worship or when in a discussion. How much easier it would be if I would simply allow him to do the spiritual work...through me. It relieves so much of the fist-clenched-"don't you understand?!!"-frustratation.
Jesus now draws a contrast between the disciples and the world, their love and its hate, their obedience and its disobedience and guilt.
12: After repeating many times in the last two chapters how important his commandments are, he now brings it to a point by getting very practical: love one another like I loved you.
4-5: Christ is the source of all our goodness and all our obedience. This shows yet again how keeping his commandments (14:15,21,etc.) does not define our relationship, rather our obedience and "fruit" comes FROM our relationship. Can no fruit be seen? Then maybe you're not connected...
15: Pretty simple statement here, but so key: no, our relationship with Christ is not about rules, BUT obeying his commandments will follow from our relationship with Christ. Long-term disobedience to Christ means we should question whether we truly love Christ.
6: I don't quite understand why Jesus adds "The Truth and The Life" in here, since in the context it seems he's only talking about the way. Maybe he just wants to make it clear it's not all about "the path" but also about the goal and the rightness of the path, and he is both? Hmm...in any case it's interesting...