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Mid-century illustration of an oil lamp and an open scroll on a table, disciples talking by the sea of Galilee

John 15:20 · World English Bible

John 15:20 Meaning Remember the Word That I Said

Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his lord.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.

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What does John 15:20 mean?

The mind is reminded that the awakened part of itself and the fear that opposes it are not new characters but old ones, and whatever the ego did to love it will do again to any mind that carries love. To expect that resistance is not gloom but sanity, for a mind forewarned is not shaken when the old flinch returns.

From the Christian Psychology reading below.

John 15:20 through 2 lenses

The same verse, read by 2 traditions.

CHRISTIAN PSYCHOLOGY

Christian Psychology

The mind is reminded that the awakened part of itself and the fear that opposes it are not new characters but old ones, and whatever the ego did to love it will do again to any mind that carries love. To expect that resistance is not gloom but sanity, for a mind forewarned is not shaken when the old flinch returns.

The same law works the other way. Wherever love's word was received, it will be received again, so the mind that meets welcome is meeting the same recognition love has always drawn. Attack and acceptance both come from the teacher already chosen, and neither is a surprise once that is seen.

Servant: the mind that follows in love's way and meets the same reception love itself has met Lord: the awakened teacher within, the presence of love the mind has chosen to follow

Christian Psychology lensGo deeper in the app

EGO & BEING

Ego v. Being

Expect the reaction, do not identify with it.

This is not a badge of honor but a description of mechanics. The pain-body in others is threatened by stillness and lashes out.

Ego v. Being lensGo deeper in the app

Christian Psychology lens

Live John 15:20 today

  1. Before a day you know will be hard, picture the pushback in advance, calmly and without dread. When it comes, it will feel like weather you packed for.
  2. When someone receives you warmly today, let yourself take it in fully instead of brushing it off. Welcome is as real as resistance and deserves the same attention.
  3. If you get cut off, overruled, or ignored in a meeting, treat it as the ordinary friction of the room rather than a verdict on you. Say your piece again later, evenly, without the edge.

What would change today if I stopped being surprised by resistance?

The same truth in other traditions

Stoicism · Marcus Aurelius

Say to yourself each morning that you will meet the rude, the ungrateful, and the self serving. Expecting them means they cannot throw you.

Tao Te Ching

Water meets every obstacle the same way and is not offended by any of them. It yields, keeps going, and wears the rock down without a fight.

Buddhism · the eight worldly winds

Praise and blame, gain and loss, come and go like weather. The practice is to stand in both without being blown over by either.

Mid-century illustration of Jesus teaching the crowd on a hillside above the sea

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