This morning I read a passage in John 15 that invites us into a particular perception of Jesus. He is sitting in the upper room with his disciples, sharing his final meal with them, and before leaving to spend time in the garden in prayer, he says:

“I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you’ll remain intimately at home in my love. That’s what I’ve done — kept my Father’s commands and made myself at home in his love.”

— John 15:9-10

With these words, Jesus invites us into a relationship with him that mirrors the relationship he shares with his Father. We know this to be a relationship of real intimacy, given the regular times Jesus would steal away from the crowds in order to spend time alone in prayer. He often tells his disciples that he doesn’t do or say anything that his Father hasn’t given him to do or say. And when he was baptized in the Jordan River, the clouds part and God’s voice from heaven says, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Clearly, they shared a relationship of great intimacy. Jesus was at home in his Father’s love.

It made me wonder if you feel at home in the love of Jesus.

What would that even mean to you? What does being at home in someone’s love look like?

When Jesus invites us to make ourselves at home in his love, he assumes we carry a certain perception of him inside ourselves, doesn’t he? His invitation assumes we consider him someone in whose love we can feel at home.

Does this match your perception of Jesus? When you consider Jesus, what comes to mind? Is he someone in whose love you feel compelled to rest?