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February- The Love of God, the Love of Christ, Christian Love
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34-35 (NIV)
The scene is the upper room; the event, the Passover meal. Jesus gives a new command to his disciples. He tells them (and us) to love one another as He has loved.
John took this new command to heart. He wrote about our need to love others in his epistles. (1 John 3:23-24, 1 John 2:6, 2 John 6)
Our Lord tells us to love as He has loved. How did Jesus love his disciples while He was on earth? I don’t usually copy all the information I find in doing my research. However, these thoughts were quite enlightening:
*“Jesus loved His disciples selflessly.
His one desire was to give himself and all he had for those he loved.
*Jesus loved his disciples sacrificially.
There was no limit to what his love would give or to where it would go.
*Jesus loved his disciples understandingly.
He knew his disciples through and through. We never really know people until we have lived with them. When we meet people occasionally, we see them at their best.
When we live with them we find out their moods, irritabilities, and weaknesses. Jesus lived with his disciples day in and day out for many months and knew all there was to be known about them—and he still loved them. Real love is open-eyed. It loves not what it imagines a man to be but what he is.
*Jesus loved his disciples forgivingly.
Their leader was to deny him. They all, save one, were all to forsake him in his hour of need. They never, in the days of his flesh, understood him. They were blind and insensitive, slow to learn, and lacking understanding. In the end, they were craven cowards. But Jesus held nothing against them; there was no failure he could not forgive.”(1)
My conclusion on Jesus’s love is that we may have a long way to go to demonstrate it to those around us. What are your thoughts on this topic?
1. Barclay, William, Daily Study Guide-Gospel of John, Vol. 2, The Westminster Press©1975
Pp. 149-150
Yes, I know I have a long way to go to demonstrate Christ's love to others like He did...I'm still learning. My tiny attempts at showing Christ's love are pale in comparison with His great love for us. Thank you for this lesson...I can see I still need to learn a lot more about this...
ReplyDeletePam: Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We were at a funeral yesterday in my hubby's hometown. I noticed a few things there that I couldn't help myself but make comment to Hubby and to our son. I need to really rely on Jesus when I see these things that seem apparent to me. I am still learning this lesson, even this morning.
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