It’s Time for Love
Jesus made a profound statement to His disciples before He went to the Cross. He said, 34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35). This is not a light thing that He said. It’s heavy and substantial. If you’re going to be a real disciple of Jesus, you will have to walk in love.
A New Commandment
Notice Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you…” Why did He say this? Because the old commandment was to love your neighbor as yourself. Now He said, “…love one another; as I have loved you.” Wow! The standard just went way up. It’s not just love your neighbor as yourself anymore. It’s also love your brothers and sisters in Christ the way I love you. That’s huge and a tall order to fill. The good news is, we can! And, by God’s grace, we will.
The question is, how did Jesus love His disciples?
1. He was patient with them.
My, my, my! Those guys messed up time and time again, but Jesus was patient with them in their immaturity, weakness and impulsiveness. He was patient with them when they lacked faith and humility. He was what we call “long suffering” with them. And this is how we are to be with one another as believers.
When someone is acting in a way that is not godly or gracious, we must love them through their mess. Love doesn’t mean we’re ok with their behavior, but we learn to care for them in spite of their behavior.
2. He was kind to them.
Jesus was and is the epitome of kindness. He was always friendly, considerate and generous to His disciples and the multitudes of people He encountered. This means that besides preaching, teaching and healing, Jesus did a lot of good deeds in His community.
Today, we are the hands and feet of Jesus. He expects us to be friendly, considerate and generous to each other and the world around us. Our fellow church members and community need our love - the love of Christ.
3. He forgave them.
Forgiveness is what I call “the golden fruit of love.” (I just made that up. You heard it here first. Lol!). I call it the golden fruit of love because in this world of offenses and human failure, we have to forgive. What is forgiveness? Here’s a definition I like, forgiveness is “a conscious, deliberate decision to release feelings of resentment or vengeance toward a person or group who has harmed you, regardless of whether they actually deserve your forgiveness.”
Jesus was offended on many occasions, but He never held it against anyone. Even when Judas betrayed Him, He let him kiss him and said, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” (Luke 22:48). He was kind and forgiving even in betrayal.
Without a doubt, someone somewhere is going to offend you. Jesus said it’s impossible to live in this world without being offended. But the quick and kingdom solution is FORGIVENESS! It will keep you from sickness, disease and other kinds of torment. Jesus said that forgiveness is so crucial that you are to forgive people 70x7 in a day. The exaggerated point He was making is: never stop forgiving.
We’re on a journey to bring you into spiritual maturity and love is the way! Get ready for a few more articles in this dynamic kingdom subject. I love you to life!
