Day 11 | John 13:34-35
A new commandment 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. John 13:34-35 (NIV)
For Reflection:
Jesus and his disciples are in the upper room, having finished their last supper together before He goes to the cross. He has just washed their feet, a concrete, visceral example of His love and humility. Soon He will be giving them final words of instruction that will encompass three more chapters, followed by the beautiful prayers in chapter 17. There are powerful words of encouragement, hope and challenge. Just before this “Farewell Discourse,” Jesus tells his friends that He is going away, and presents them with this charge. He calls it a “new commandment.” They are to love each other as He has loved them.
Of course, the disciples would have been very familiar with the idea of loving others, from studying the Old Testament. What makes it new is that it is taking love to a whole new level. Jesus has just spent three years showing them what servant love is like. It goes beyond simply loving your neighbor, to including loving your enemies.
In John for Everyone, Part 2, N.T. Wright says, one needs to be careful not to “define ‘one another’ so tightly that it means only the people who reinforce your own sense of who you are.” Some people are easy to love. Others, not so much. But we can remind ourselves that ALL are created in God’s Image, and have immeasurable worth in God’s eyes. He continues, “Love is all about the other person. It flows into service, not to show off how hard-working it is, but because that is its natural form. (Love) is to be the badge that the Christian community wears before the watching world.”
And we don’t have to do this on our own strength! Jesus also told His disciples in his talk that night that He was going to send the Holy Spirit. What a gift to know that even as He asks us to do as He did, to follow in his footsteps and model our lives after Him, we are also given His Spirit. He is with us and equips us.
Let us Pray:
Jesus, thank you so much for the incredible gift of Your words to the disciples and to us. Help us to follow after You, loving others, and embracing the truth of how You equip us to love like You do. Let the world see Your love through us! Amen.
Questions:
I wonder who I might show God's love to, even today?
Who might God unexpectedly put across my path?
Can I take some moments today to thank God for the fellow believers that I’ve been privileged to have in my life?