Love One Another
Day 4 • February 7
Love One Another John 15:11-12 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.
Love. Just 4 little letters. It’s an easy word to say, but love is anything but simple.
Jesus reinforced the following truths to His Disciples and to those of us who believe in Him.
In my lifetime I have been told by the Beatles that “love is all you need” and that I “can’t buy me love”. Linda Ronstadt taught me that “love is a rose but you better not pick it”, and Pat Benatar said “love is a battlefield”. Nazareth confessed that “love hurts”, and the J. Geils Band even went as far as to suggest that “love stinks”! Celine Dion caterwauled on and on about the “power of love”, and then Tina Turner summed it all up by asking: “What’s love got to do with it?”
Jesus loves us the way God loves Him.
Love has to be the most confusing word in the English language, don’t you think? For example, you can love your spouse and children and also love a commercial on TV with that “whee-whee-wheeing” pig. We love our sports teams and baby back ribs. People fall in and out of love, maybe because they are “drunk with love”. Somebody rescue me!! I’m drowning in a sea of love!!
Some parts of Scripture can admittedly be confusing, but here Jesus is very clear. “You are my friends if you do what I command.” And what does Jesus command? He plainly tells us. “This is my command: Love each other.” Jesus gave us this command so that our “joy may be complete”. Do you see? Joy in this life is obtained by obeying His commands and loving others.
R One thing’s for sure: while many artists, poets and
thinkers have attempted to define and describe love, none of them come close to what Jesus is talking about in today’s passage. Most Bible scholars agree that John chapters 15 and 16 were part of a discourse Jesus had with His Disciples on the night of the Last Supper. This is Jesus talking to those closest to Him. As you read John 15:9-17, try to imagine the urgency, pleading and passion in Jesus’ voice as He shares His heart with those who would continue His work on Earth. Christ knows that in a short time He will be gone, and His Disciples will face life without His physical presence. He also knows the propensities of the human heart and how even the best among us are sinners at our core.
This is not some warm fuzzy feeling kind of love, but an AGAPE love; which is perfect love. Ponder that for a moment – Jesus said God loves you as much as He loves His own Son. No matter your past; no matter what evil actions or thoughts you have committed, God loves you with the same love with which He loves Jesus. Love is demonstrated by obedience.
Loving others is NOT optional. Twice in this passage Jesus commands us to love each other. What makes us think this is an option? Remember, Jesus is speaking to the 12 men who were the most committed to Him, and He still felt the need to double-down on this command to love each other. Jesus knew that greed, jealousy, laziness, pride, self-importance and self-righteousness can grow like weeds inside the heart, and when that happens, love is crowded out. In John 13:35 Jesus tells us that His Disciples will be known by their love for each other.
R
So how do we, as 21st century Believers, obey His command? At some point “WWJD” bracelets were the rage, and they reminded us to ask: “What Would Jesus Do?” While the marketing of those bracelets
Love One Another • Day 4 has long since passed, that question should still be our guiding principle. If someone does you wrong, do not react in anger, but in love. What can any person do or say to us that could be any worse than what Jesus suffered for us? Don’t forget, as Jesus was on the Cross, He asked His Father to forgive those who had put Him there. Shouldn’t we follow His example? It will be a great day in God’s Kingdom when His followers are truly known for our love for each other rather than for the sins we loudly condemn, or the buildings we build, or the political power we obtain. Jesus did not command us to be better than sinners, but to love sinners (of which we all are). Jesus did not command us to be better than other Christians, but to love each other. Jesus spoke this message to His Disciples just before His arrest, and it definitely affected them. In fact, both John and Peter went to great lengths in subsequent years to re-emphasize the need to love others. Paul, the converted Christian killer who met Jesus on the road to Damascus, also wrote extensively about the importance of love for others.
For Reference Read: Romans 12:9-21 Romans 13:8-10 1 Corinthians 13 Galatians 5:13-26
1 Peter 3:8-9 1 John 3:11-24 1 John 4:7-21
P.S.– Quotes Keith Miller “The way to love someone is to lightly run your finger over that person’s soul until you find a crack, and then gently pour your love into that crack.” Sir James M. Barrie “If you have love, you don’t need to have anything else; and if you don’t have it, it doesn’t much matter what else you have.” Elbert Hubbard “Love grows by giving. The love we give away is the only love we keep.” John Harrigan
In other words, the last teachings of Jesus became the first priority of His followers. Is anything less than that acceptable for us today? •
“People need loving the most when they deserve it the least.”
Are you an example of Christ-like love? How do you know? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ What actions, attitudes or words do you need to ask His forgiveness for? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Is there someone you need to approach and ask their forgiveness? When will you do that? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Daily Scripture Reading: John 16
Love One Another John 15:11-12 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.
Love. Just 4 little letters. It’s an easy word to say, but love is anything but simple.
Jesus reinforced the following truths to His Disciples and to those of us who believe in Him.
In my lifetime I have been told by the Beatles that “love is all you need” and that I “can’t buy me love”. Linda Ronstadt taught me that “love is a rose but you better not pick it”, and Pat Benatar said “love is a battlefield”. Nazareth confessed that “love hurts”, and the J. Geils Band even went as far as to suggest that “love stinks”! Celine Dion caterwauled on and on about the “power of love”, and then Tina Turner summed it all up by asking: “What’s love got to do with it?”
Jesus loves us the way God loves Him.
Love has to be the most confusing word in the English language, don’t you think? For example, you can love your spouse and children and also love a commercial on TV with that “whee-whee-wheeing” pig. We love our sports teams and baby back ribs. People fall in and out of love, maybe because they are “drunk with love”. Somebody rescue me!! I’m drowning in a sea of love!!
Some parts of Scripture can admittedly be confusing, but here Jesus is very clear. “You are my friends if you do what I command.” And what does Jesus command? He plainly tells us. “This is my command: Love each other.” Jesus gave us this command so that our “joy may be complete”. Do you see? Joy in this life is obtained by obeying His commands and loving others.
R One thing’s for sure: while many artists, poets and
thinkers have attempted to define and describe love, none of them come close to what Jesus is talking about in today’s passage. Most Bible scholars agree that John chapters 15 and 16 were part of a discourse Jesus had with His Disciples on the night of the Last Supper. This is Jesus talking to those closest to Him. As you read John 15:9-17, try to imagine the urgency, pleading and passion in Jesus’ voice as He shares His heart with those who would continue His work on Earth. Christ knows that in a short time He will be gone, and His Disciples will face life without His physical presence. He also knows the propensities of the human heart and how even the best among us are sinners at our core.
This is not some warm fuzzy feeling kind of love, but an AGAPE love; which is perfect love. Ponder that for a moment – Jesus said God loves you as much as He loves His own Son. No matter your past; no matter what evil actions or thoughts you have committed, God loves you with the same love with which He loves Jesus. Love is demonstrated by obedience.
Loving others is NOT optional. Twice in this passage Jesus commands us to love each other. What makes us think this is an option? Remember, Jesus is speaking to the 12 men who were the most committed to Him, and He still felt the need to double-down on this command to love each other. Jesus knew that greed, jealousy, laziness, pride, self-importance and self-righteousness can grow like weeds inside the heart, and when that happens, love is crowded out. In John 13:35 Jesus tells us that His Disciples will be known by their love for each other.
R
So how do we, as 21st century Believers, obey His command? At some point “WWJD” bracelets were the rage, and they reminded us to ask: “What Would Jesus Do?” While the marketing of those bracelets
Love One Another • Day 4 has long since passed, that question should still be our guiding principle. If someone does you wrong, do not react in anger, but in love. What can any person do or say to us that could be any worse than what Jesus suffered for us? Don’t forget, as Jesus was on the Cross, He asked His Father to forgive those who had put Him there. Shouldn’t we follow His example? It will be a great day in God’s Kingdom when His followers are truly known for our love for each other rather than for the sins we loudly condemn, or the buildings we build, or the political power we obtain. Jesus did not command us to be better than sinners, but to love sinners (of which we all are). Jesus did not command us to be better than other Christians, but to love each other. Jesus spoke this message to His Disciples just before His arrest, and it definitely affected them. In fact, both John and Peter went to great lengths in subsequent years to re-emphasize the need to love others. Paul, the converted Christian killer who met Jesus on the road to Damascus, also wrote extensively about the importance of love for others.
For Reference Read: Romans 12:9-21 Romans 13:8-10 1 Corinthians 13 Galatians 5:13-26
1 Peter 3:8-9 1 John 3:11-24 1 John 4:7-21
P.S.– Quotes Keith Miller “The way to love someone is to lightly run your finger over that person’s soul until you find a crack, and then gently pour your love into that crack.” Sir James M. Barrie “If you have love, you don’t need to have anything else; and if you don’t have it, it doesn’t much matter what else you have.” Elbert Hubbard “Love grows by giving. The love we give away is the only love we keep.” John Harrigan
In other words, the last teachings of Jesus became the first priority of His followers. Is anything less than that acceptable for us today? •
“People need loving the most when they deserve it the least.”
Are you an example of Christ-like love? How do you know? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ What actions, attitudes or words do you need to ask His forgiveness for? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Is there someone you need to approach and ask their forgiveness? When will you do that? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Daily Scripture Reading: John 16
