Many times I have read the book of John and heard the verses in chapter 13 about loving one other, but for some reason today they just stood out to me. I was thinking that this is some of Jesus' last time with the disciples and anything He would be saying to them would be like a coach who is giving his team one last pep talk near the end of the game. You know, one of those talks where he says something about how much they have been working up to this moment and how it has all come down to this....and this is something you will remember for the rest of your lives. Well, that is how I picture Jesus talking to the disciples when He says..."A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another". One of the things that stood out to me is that Jesus says "a new commandment I leave to you"....then he says "love one another". Now loving one another obviously was not a new concept. It wasn't like up until this moment love had not been introduced into the world, or even the idea of loving each other. But the key to what Jesus was saying that made this a "new" commandment was in His very next line, "as I have loved you". Whoa, now this was a radical statement that even the disciples had not way of understanding. Why...because Jesus had not yet died for them. They had no way of understanding the love the Jesus was talking about in the moment like we get to see when we read this. We know how Jesus loved us. We know the sacrificial and unconditional love that Jesus showed us. We know that not long after making that statement He would be drug off, beat and killed for the sake of our sins. So we see the full meaning behind the words "love one another, as I have loved you". But Jesus also goes on to say "by this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another". As a Christ follower this is an area that I have to hang my head low when I think of how "us" as Christ followers have shown the world how we "love one another". Our very brother and sister in Christ.....half the time we can even pull that love off, let alone have love for those that are lost. That is a sad but true fact.
If the enemy has managed to corrupt anything the most, it has to be love. Through the corruption of love he has managed to muddy up the waters between right and wrong. He has managed to create selfishness in our hearts. He has managed to create this "every man(or woman) for himself" or "live for the moment" attitude. All of this has been accomplished by corrupting love. If you look all the way back to the beginning of time he has been working on corrupting love. Kane and Abel are the perfect example of one of the first times satan was able to make love less important and greed and jealousy take it's place. And he has done that throughout time, and continues to do it today. Marriage, homosexuality, abortion, murder, cheating, stealing....this list goes on and on. All of these things have been tainted by the lack of application to "love one another, as I (Christ) have loved you". Christ's love was pure, it was blameless, it had not selfish intentions. It contained to motives, it contained no lust, it contained no greed. It caused no pain (to others), it was not prejudice and it was blameless. It put others first and His love was the perfect example of unconditional. Christ's love was PERFECT. So for this to be one of His last commandments holds MUCH meaning! How many wars would not have happened? How many protests would not have taken place? How many marriages would still be together? How many children would have been born? How many families would be whole......IF we could just love as selfless as Christ did? What will it take for us to get it right?....It will take us surrendering our selfish wants and desires to Him, and allowing Him to purify our hearts and love through us. We cannot do it on our own. "It is not me, but He that is in me!"
God, we truly cannot thank You enough for the love that You have for us. We truly cannot wrap our human minds around the love the Christ showed us. We can only stand in awe and ask for you to pierce our hearts and reveal in us the areas that we need to first work on our love for you, then our love for one another. Holy Spirit please put a love so pure in us that what we get from it would be the very last thing on our minds. And help us show a seemingly hopeless world the hope and love that Christ intended for us all to know. Heal hearts today....heal marriages today....heal families today....heal friendships today....heal the church today....We cry out for love to conquer and heal all!!! In Jesus name, Amen
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