Today’s Reading: John 13:31-35
Hearing God’s Voice for Today:
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
* * * * *
The cross was looming on the horizon. In just a few hours, Jesus would give his life for the salvation of the world.
Before going to the cross, the Lord wanted to give his disciples a profound teaching. It was a new commandment: As he had loved them, he now wanted them to love one another.
At first glance, this may not seem like a new commandment. Moses had told the Jews to love God with all their heart and their neighbors as themselves (Leviticus 19:18).
But Jesus’ love was deeper and more powerful than Moses’ words. “Just as I have loved you,” he said. It would be evidenced by his death on a cross. It was an unconditional and self-sacrificial love. His would be a death that invited love for enemies and prayers for persecutors.
Jesus wanted his disciples to emulate the love displayed on the cross and show it to other people. When rightly done, this love would be a strong evangelistic tool. The world will know that you are one of Jesus’ disciples by the way you love fellow believers.
The world knows little of this kind of love. Friends are willing to die for friends, but not enemies. People are willing to die for their country, but not for their persecutors.
The world’s love is rooted in performance. It’s often quid pro quo. What you do for me, I will do for you. You scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours. If you perform well, you receive plaudits and a raise. If not, you are on your own.
That’s antithetical to God’s kind of love. His love is unconditional and sacrificial. It’s not rooted in merit. It lays down its life for friends and enemies alike. While you were still wallowing in your sin and headed toward eternal doom, Jesus came and died for you. He left the grandeur of heaven to enter the garbage of this world. He died a shameful, hideous death because of his love for you.
Jesus’ followers are called to love one another the way he loves them. This ability to love others comes from God himself. Anyone who loves proves he’s a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. Anyone who loves other followers of Jesus is living in the light and not causing others to stumble.
When Jesus’ love is lived out rightly in his church, spiritual seekers will be drawn to him. They will desire to know this Savior whose love is not based on the exhausting demands of performance. They will want to be part of a group of people who love as he has loved them.
Everything else in this world will one day fade away. Three things never will: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love.
How he loves you!
Now love one another—even your enemies—the way he has loved you.
When you do, the world will know you truly belong to him.
[from “Hearing the Voice of God” by Pastor David Chadwick, Moments of Hope Church, Charlotte, NC]