A characteristic of one who follows Jesus is to love one another as Christ loved us.
As they were eating the Passover, the night before Jesus went to the cross to pay the price for our sins he gave his disciples a “new command.” “As I have loved you, so you must love one another. All men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35).
We typically point to the ultimate act of love seen in our Lord’s death as the sole descriptor of his love for us. But Jesus uses past tense and draws on the experience of the disciples with him to define the type of love they, and we are to have for each other. How did Jesus show love during his earthly ministry?
He showed kindness to children (Matthew 19:14). He had compassion on a woman who was an outcast (John 4). He protected a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery (John 8:1-11). He reached out to a tax collector (Luke 19:2-9). He had compassion on people who tracked him down when he tried to get some rest (Mark 5:30-44). He healed a man who did not even know how to ask for help (John 5:1-15). He wept at the grave of his friend (John 11). He washed the feet of his disciples (John 13) and he forgave those who hurt him (Luke 23:34) even though they did not ask for it. Those are just samples of how Jesus loved.
But Jesus was also a realist. He knew that people were sinners. Instead of glossing over their sin, he gently exposed it to the light of his life changing love. When a person was broken hearted and repented of sin, Jesus granted his forgiveness and did not deepen their sense of guilt (Luke 7:36-50). For Jesus, to love someone meant to see them exactly as they were and to then seek to move them to become more than they could imagine through relationship with him.
To love people means that I show compassion, kindness, grace and generosity to others. It means that I pray for them, even when I don’t like them. It means that I find ways to point others to Jesus as the answer to the deepest need of their life. It means that I work to see that the person who really irritates me is still a creation of God, whom he loves and was willing to give his son to die for. It means that when I have wronged someone I ask their forgiveness and when I have been wronged I grant forgiveness.
I will know if I am abiding in the teaching of Jesus as I learn to love other people, realistically and without conditions.
Today’s Tip: Begin to work on being a person of compassion
Try these ways to grow in your love for others:
*Pray for God to bless the person that seems to be the biggest irritant in your life.
*After each interaction this week, silently pray: Dear Lord _____________ is the person you love, help me to love them too.
*Read over 1 Corinthians 13 each day and think about what it will look like for you to have the kind of love the Apostle Paul describes in verses 4-7.
Ask a friend to observe your actions and interactions and to hold you accountable to be more loving.
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