Oct 13 2008
love completely
Here is a link to today’s reading
Life is about relationships. No one sees this more clearly than those who see death fast approaching. Jesus was approaching death when he taught his followers this new commandment, “Love one another like I have loved you.” The command to love others was not the new part. The new part of this is the command to love like Jesus. Jesus love is complete love even to the point of sacrificing himself. Jesus teaches us that when we love like that, everyone will know whom we follow.
Today’s Challenge:
What priorities get in the way of the relationships you need to value? If you had one month to live, what practical changes would you make to demonstrate that relationships matter most? Which of those changes can you put into motion this week? What relationships need an hour of your undivided attention? Write down one person that you want to start loving as Jesus loves you, AND how you plan to show that love.
Textual Reflections:
If you wonder what Jesus would prioritize if he had one month to live, then this is your text. John 13 and following records Jesus conversations in the last day before his death. In these conversation his top priority is on the relationships of his followers. He calls them to love one another. He offers two clarifying additions to this call. First Jesus clarifies the kind of love they should express. Secondly, Jesus clarifies the impact this love will have on others. But before we get to that I want to mention one detail that is subtle and perhaps surprising.
Did you notice the target of the love that is commanded in this text. In other places Jesus will call on his followers to love their neighbors and even their enemies, but in this text Jesus calls them to love one another. This is a teaching about the kind of relationships that are expected within the Christian community. Christian communities should be marked by a unique kind of relational health that transcends what is found outside the church. This happens far too rarely and when Christian fail to love another the consequences are very serious.
Now to the clarifications. The first one is to describe the kind love that Christians should show to one another. This is the newness of the command. The power of this comes largely from its context. He says this just after he has washed the feet of his disciples, and just before the events begint aht lead to his death. In this context he says to them. Love each other just like I am loving you.
The second clarifying truth is about the consequences of our love. Jesus says that it the quality of our communal love that Christians reveal their identitiy to others. There is ample eveidence of this in the first few centuries of the church, and I think that this remains remarkably true. It is remarkably easy to find out what kind of person Jesus was. We literally give away books about his life. And then when the world reads about his life and observe those who claim to follow him a remarkable opportunity is available. There is opportunity to draw that person to God through the power of a love like Christ’s or to drive them away as they observe a vst disconnect between the life and love and Jesus and the life and love of we whom claim to follow him.
I am occasionally in conversation where we discuss how a certain event or a certain practice is “mission critical.” Lately we have been having those conversations about parking. At Mountain we need more people to use our shuttling system and free up spaces in the main lots. That is “mission critical.” Well the truth is that parking needs will come and go but loving one another like Jesus is always “mission critical.” It is the quality of our communal love that identifies us to the world as followers of Christ.
on the walk
-Ethan
