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John 13:31-35
Jesus was coming to the place where the Disciples could no longer walk with Him. This part of the journey Jesus must walk alone. And before He goes, He gives to them some final Instructions, let’s look at what He says.
John 13:31-35 (NIV) When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.
“My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
You know often I believe that those of us who have grown up in the Church look at these familiar passages and we don’t ever take time to truly listen to what they say. I’ve looked at this often and wondered if we are to love each other, as Jesus loved the Disciples, what does that look like? Here are just a few thoughts on this
Jesus loved selflessly. Often times we think we love selflessly, but there often seems to be a human element in much of what we do that expects some sort of return. Friendship, loyalty, relationship of some sort are usually the paybacks we receive for loving others. That is not selfless love. What if we showed love and compassion to someone who could not do anything to love us in return – that would be selfless love.
Jesus loved understandingly. Jesus was able to see into the hearts of those around Him. We can’t do that, and what we usually see is the people around us on their best behavior – especially when we’re at church. It’s not till we live with someone a while that we get to see how they truly are. And real love means we are concerned with the well beings of others regardless if they care about yours.
Jesus loved sacrificially. Jesus has no limits on His love for humanity. And He shows us that when He put His life up as the payment for sin. Nothing He experienced went beyond the boundaries of His love for His creation.
Jesus loves forgivingly. When Jesus starts this part of the journey everyone scatters – Peter denies Him, He is totally abandoned by the Disciples. And yet Jesus held nothing against them even before this they were insensitive, slow to learn, lacked understanding often, and yet Jesus held nothing against them. He continued to disciple them. Because Jesus knew that love without forgiveness isn’t love at all.
Throughout Matthew, Mark, and Luke, we see Jesus being filled with compassion for the crowds that follow Him. He sees them as sheep without a shepherd, He sees them as hungry without food, He sees them as sick and lame with no hope. And each time His love for them moves Him to action .
How do we do at loving each other? Right now there is so much going on. There’s so much politically and racially going on in our country. Have we forgotten what it means to love each other the way that Jesus asks His Disciples to love?
Are we loving each other selflessly, understandingly, sacrificially, and forgivingly? Knowing and experiencing God’s love for us, could we turn that love outward to love others the way that Christ has loved us?