John 13:34-35
““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.””
John 13:34-35 NIV
The love of Christ is a supernatural love, a divine love, a love that streams to us from the heart of God, for God is Love. The Lord Jesus was soon to demonstrate how deep that love was for all who receive Him as their redeeming sin sacrifice, for greater love has no one than this, that the Man Christ Jesus, God incarnate, would lay down His life for His friends.
And so, He gave us a new commandment, a command that sums up the perfect Law of God in one simple act: "Love one another as I have loved You." In so doing, we perfectly fulfil the requirements of God's law and the will of God’s heart for all His children, for what is impossible for man is possible with God. When we live our life in spirit, in truth, and in submission to the Holy Spirit, the life of Christ lives in us and the love of Christ streams from us.
As believers in Christ, we are called to love everyone, no exceptions. But in reality, it’s not always that straightforward. I have heard it said, “No one ever said love was easy. And if they did, they lied.”
Human beings are inherently sinful and fundamentally flawed with the capacity to frustrate, anger, baffle, and deeply wound one another. We are a wonderfully rich and diverse species, yet those differences can be a source of much confusion, conflict, and division between us.
From the way we look, speak, and live out our beliefs and values, to our cultural experiences, educational backgrounds, and even our zip codes, each person brings their own unique contribution to the table and some of it may be more palatable to us than others. No, loving others is never easy, but Jesus calls us to do it anyway.
Male and female, rich and poor, healthy and sick, honorable and dishonorable; Jesus did not discriminate. Instead, He demonstrated a radical, passionate, counter-cultural love to each and every person He encountered, without strings, without judgment, and without exception.
A redeeming love that pointed people toward the Father and offered hope and freedom to a world that was weary, broken, and lost. A self-sacrificial love that took Him all the way to the cross. A love that is still very much evident today.
No one can love as Christ loved in the power of their own sinful flesh. No one can love as Jesus loved by their own imperfect human effort, however hard we try, for the love of man is but a faint reflection of the glorious Son of Righteousness.
But all who trust in His name have been made a new creation in Christ and have the life of Christ living in us and through us. Only as we allow Christ to live in us, will His love stream through us so that by this will other people know that we are learning of Christ, that we are His disciples!!!
Father thank You this day and may we live as Christ lived in spirit and truth. May we live in submission to the Holy Spirit, and in obedience to Your Will. Lord open the floodgates of your abundant blessings let them fall upon my friend and family today. Lord may we love as Christ loved so that in ourselves we become nothing, in order that You may be seen in us and we can show forth Your love in our lives to Your praise and glory. Lord we want to learn from You, to know You more, and to love You better, to walk in spirit and truth, to grow in grace and to love others as You love me. Lord let our lives be a true testimony to the world that we are Your children, Your friends, Your bond-servants, and Your disciples, so that our lives may bring honor to Your Name. Be a blessing.
Father, we love You. Amen !
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