"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other. John 15:9-17
These are the words Jesus had for his disciples as he celebrated Passover with them for the last time. He didn't have a lot of time to get his message across and this is the message he chose. It is really all that was needed.
Growing up in church I remember hearing "If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love." I was always hung up on the 's'. How many commands? The 10 commandments or the entire Mennonite Brethren Conference manual? Exactly what commands are you talking about?
When I read this at the beginning of Lent, it all finally came together for me. "This is my command: Love each other. Period. Did you see the period? Love each other. Why have we made Jesus' message so hard, so confusing when he summed it all up in one sentence?
Love your enemies. Love your neighbors. Love the church. Love the person standing next you.
'You know you've made god in your image when he hates the same people you do'. Guess what. We gotta love those people too. And not just a little. Jesus said, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. He's not just talking about your BFF here. The love God gave us is grace, mercy, forgiveness, acceptance. He loved us long before we turned to him.
I'm not very good at this. It would be easier to just get a list of dos and don'ts. A new law. But then we miss out on the amazing beauty of grace. The greatness of forgiveness. I choose grace. I choose love.
2 comments:
Annie - You are absolutely right. I very much enjoyed reading this submission. Loving one another is the ultimate command from God but it is by far the hardest to do. Good thing there are people like you in my life that are easy to love! I hope you all had a wonderful Easter and please know you and your whole family were in our thoughts and prayers as we gathered here in KC for Easter. See you soon! - Regina
Annie, I am reading this very belatedly. You expressed yourself very well in terms we all feel I think. I have memorized two verses in this passage recently. Verse 9 and 13. Now to live them out.
Love, Gma Karen
Post a Comment