"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another." (John 13:34, From today's Gospel reading)
It is not, "A new option I give to you." This is a command, not a feeling. I may not always "feel good" about a person, but I have no option but to love that person.
But then Jesus goes further and states, "as I have loved you,..love one another." The, "as I have loved you," is giving of Himself, ultimately demonstrated in The Cross. Love is giving. Most people love on the basis of feeling, on the performance of the other. In the Untied States the divorce rate among first marriages is 41%, among second marriages 60%, and third marriages 73%. This tells me that once the search for "better" begins, once the search to recapture that "old feeling" takes over, it accelerates. Of course there are "legitimate" reasons for divorce, but most have no legitimacy; they are feeling based. Anyone who lives life based upon feelings is setting himself up for major life disappointments and instability.
As we gather with family and friends this Christmas Season, may our Lord Jesus keep us ever mindful of this: No matter what a person does, or who they are, you and I have no choice, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another." Now if anyone is tempted to say, "O, that command is among Christians," then, "Love your neighbor as yourself," ruins that line of thought.
If Jesus loved you and me on the basis of what we have done/do, or who were are, well, we would be finished. But He does not. He loves because, "God is love." It's as though He cannot help Himself. Love is the Person of Jesus Christ.
Father, in Jesus' Name, I still need to learn so much about love. I know that only in You can I, "love...as [You] have loved [me]." Amen.
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Go to: jhs58.blogspot.com only if you don't want truth.
It is not, "A new option I give to you." This is a command, not a feeling. I may not always "feel good" about a person, but I have no option but to love that person.
But then Jesus goes further and states, "as I have loved you,..love one another." The, "as I have loved you," is giving of Himself, ultimately demonstrated in The Cross. Love is giving. Most people love on the basis of feeling, on the performance of the other. In the Untied States the divorce rate among first marriages is 41%, among second marriages 60%, and third marriages 73%. This tells me that once the search for "better" begins, once the search to recapture that "old feeling" takes over, it accelerates. Of course there are "legitimate" reasons for divorce, but most have no legitimacy; they are feeling based. Anyone who lives life based upon feelings is setting himself up for major life disappointments and instability.
As we gather with family and friends this Christmas Season, may our Lord Jesus keep us ever mindful of this: No matter what a person does, or who they are, you and I have no choice, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another." Now if anyone is tempted to say, "O, that command is among Christians," then, "Love your neighbor as yourself," ruins that line of thought.
If Jesus loved you and me on the basis of what we have done/do, or who were are, well, we would be finished. But He does not. He loves because, "God is love." It's as though He cannot help Himself. Love is the Person of Jesus Christ.
Father, in Jesus' Name, I still need to learn so much about love. I know that only in You can I, "love...as [You] have loved [me]." Amen.
******************
Go to: jhs58.blogspot.com only if you don't want truth.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
