Sunday (April 24): "Love
one another as I have loved you"
Scripture: John 13:31-35
31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of man
glorified, and in him God is glorified; 32 if God is glorified in
him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at
once. 33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You
will seek me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you,
`Where I am going you cannot come.' 34 A new commandment I give to
you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you
also love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are
my disciples, if you have love for one another."
Meditation: How does God reveal his glory to us?
During his last supper with his disciples on the eve of his
sacrifice on the cross, Jesus speaks of his glory and the glory of
his Father. What is this glory? It is the cross which Jesus speaks
of here. The cross of Jesus reveals the tremendous love and mercy
of God the Father and his beloved Son for the human race. John the
Evangelist writes, "For God so loved the world that he gave his
only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish
but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
The true nature of love
There is no greater glory and honor that one can offer than the
willing sacrifice of one's life for the sake of another. This is
the true nature of love - the total self-giving and free offering
of one's life for the good of another. A mother who loves her
child will do everything in her power to nurture, protect, and
save the life of the child. A soldier devoted to his country's
welfare, will endure any hardship and suffering and willingly
sacrifice his own life to defend his people. God the Father showed
the unfathomable depth of his love and mercy by willingly offering
his only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the atoning
sacrifice for the sin of the world. To ransom a slave God gave his
only Son. That slave is you and me and the whole human race which
is bound in sin and death and separation from God.
The cancer of sin is healed by Christ's merciful love
Paul the Apostle tells us, "For the wages of sin is death, but the
free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans
6:23). The Lord Jesus died for our sins to bring us abundant new
life in his Spirit and to restore our nature in the true image and
likeness of God. The cancer of sin shows us the ugliness of greed,
hatred, and envy which destroy the very core of our being and rob
us of life and love. That is why evil infects the world which God
created out of his boundless love and goodness. God did not create
evil and suffering, but through suffering he conquers evil with
goodness, truth, and mercy and righteousness.
That is why Jesus gave his disciples a new commandment and way of
love - not a commandment that replaces the Old Covenant
commandment to love one's neighbor as oneself. This new
commandment transforms the old commandment with the love and mercy
which the Lord Jesus poured out for us on the Cross of Calvary.
There death was defeated, and sin was covered with merciful love
and forgiveness, and Satan's power was crushed through Godly
meekness and obedience. Jesus proved that love is stronger than
death. That is how we overcome the world and conquer our enemies -
Satan, who is the father of lies and a murderer from the
beginning, the world which stands in opposition to God, and our
own sinful pride and fear of death.
The love of Christ conquers all
The Father has glorified his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, by
raising him from the dead. And the Lord shares his glory with us
and with all who believe in him as their Lord and Savior.
Augustine of Hippo wrote,
God loves each one of us as if there
were only one of us to love. God's love is direct, personal,
and wholly oriented to our good welfare and happiness. What can
hold us back from loving the One who suffered and died for us and
who offers us abundant joy and happiness with him forever? Nothing
can separate us from that love except our own stubborn pride,
envy, and self-deception. Satan rebelled out of pride and envy -
he wanted to be God's rival. Adam disobeyed because he listened to
Satan's lie and deceptive promise to glory apart from God. We sin
because we love ourselves more than we love God and our neighbor.
Only the cross can break the curse of sin and bring full
restoration of body, mind, and soul.
We are called to love as Christ loves us
We were made for glory - the glory which comes from God and which
lasts forever. That glory can only be obtained in the cross of
Jesus Christ. And the price for that glory is the total offering
of our lives for the One who loved us first and who died on the
cross to save us from everlasting death and destruction. God
offers us the free gift of faith which enables us to believe in
his only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who frees us from
slavery to sin so we can live as sons and daughters of God. The
distinctive mark of the followers of Jesus is love - a love not
bound by fear, greed, or selfishness - but a love full of
compassion, mercy, kindness, and goodness.
God's love has been poured into our hearts
How can we love one another as Christ has loved us? Paul the
Apostle tells us that "God's love has been poured into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us" (Romans 5:5).
Jesus poured out his Holy Spirit on his disciples at Pentecost and
he pours out his Spirit today on all who believe in him. If we
yield our hearts to Jesus and submit to his will for us, then the
Holy Spirit will purify all that is unloving, unkind, and
unforgiving in us. The Lord wants to transform our minds so we can
understand his word of truth and life which has power to set us
free from ignorance, unbelief, deception, and prejudice.
This is the power that overcomes the world - the triumphant cross of
Christ which breaks the destructive forces of sin, hatred, and
division. And we share in the power of Christ's victory by
embracing the cross which the Lord Jesus sets before each one of us.
What is the cross that I must take up daily in order to follow the
Lord Jesus? When my will crosses with God's will, then his will must
be done. The cross of Christ sets us free to live no longer for
ourselves but for Christ and his kingdom of peace, joy, and
righteousness (moral goodness). Our calling and privilege is to
serve as Christ has served and to love and he has loved. That is the
way we share in the glory of our heavenly Father who gave us his
beloved Son who laid down his life for each one of us.
The distinctive mark of every disciple and follower of Jesus Christ
is love - a love that is ready to forgive and forget past injuries,
to heal and restore rather than inflict revenge and injury. The
cross of Jesus is the only way to pardon, peace, forgiveness, and
reconciliation. Every other way will fail or fall short of the glory
and victory which Jesus Christ has won for us through his death and
resurrection. If we embrace his love and truth and allow his Holy
Spirit to purify and transform our hearts and minds, then we will
find the inner freedom, joy, and strength we need to love without
measure, to forgive without limit, and to serve without reward -
save that of knowing we are serving the One who wants to be united
with us in an unbreakable bond of peace and joy forever.
"Lord Jesus, your love knows no bounds and surpasses everything I
could desire and long for. Fill me with the fire of your love and
with the joy of your Holy Spirit that I may freely serve my neighbor
with loving-kindness, tenderhearted mercy, and generous care for
their well-being."
Psalm 145:1,8-13
1 I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name for ever
and ever.
8 The L
ORD is gracious and merciful, slow
to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 The L
ORD is good to all, and his
compassion is over all that he has made.
10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O L
ORD,
and all your saints shall bless you!
11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom, and tell of your
power,
12 to make known to the sons of men your mighty deeds, and the
glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion
endures throughout all generations. The L
ORD
is faithful in all his words, and gracious in all his deeds.
Daily Quote from the early church fathers:
Christ's love
goes further than anything previous, by Cyril of Alexandria
(376-444 AD)
"He plainly indicates the novelty involved in his command here -
and the extent to which the love he enjoins here surpasses the old
idea of mutual love (Deuteronomy 6:5) - by adding the words 'Even
as I have loved you, you also should love one another.' ... The
law of Moses mandated the necessity of loving our brothers as
ourselves, yet our Lord Jesus the Christ loved us far more than he
loved himself. Otherwise, he would have never descended to our
humiliation from his original exaltation in the form of God and on
an equality with God the Father, nor would he have undergone for
our sakes the exceptional bitterness of his death in the flesh,
nor have submitted to beatings from the Jews, to shame, to
derision, and all his other sufferings too numerous to mention.
Being rich, he would never have become poor if he had not loved us
far more than he loved himself. It was indeed something new for
love to go as far as that! Christ commands us to love as he did,
putting neither reputation, wealth or anything else before love of
our brothers and sisters. If need be, we even need to be prepared
to face death for our neighbor’s salvation as our Savior's blessed
disciples did, as well as those who followed in their footsteps.
To them the salvation of others mattered more than their own
lives, and they were ready to do anything or to suffer anything to
save souls that were perishing."
(excerpt from COMMENTARY
ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 9)
