Pass It On
Opening Prayer
Holy God, I am Your loving child, dependent on You for everything I need.
Read John 15:9-17
[9] “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. [10] If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. [11] I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. [12] My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. [13] Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. [14] You are my friends if you do what I command. [15] 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. [16] You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit-fruit that will last-and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. [17] This is my command: Love each other. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Why does Jesus now call his disciples friends, not servants?The Olympic Games are an astonishing display of discipline, strength and teamwork. During the opening ceremony of the 2012 Games in London, there was a wonderful moment when established sporting champions passed the baton to selected younger athletes as an endorsement of their skills and an encouragement to press on. But more striking was the unspoken subtext of the older role model: “As I have done, now you do.” Role models are essential andJesus is the perfect example in all instances, not just when he talks about love. There is an authenticity to his words because those around him had seen his love in action and felt his love expressed in countless ways. More than anyone else they knew, it was Jesus who was supremely qualified to say, “As I have done, now you do.” In our turbulent times we see love devalued, trivialized and corrupted–a far cry from the kind of love Jesus is endorsing. His love won’t dry up because it flows out from the love he receives from his Father (9). His love is not self-serving or insincere, but is prepared to go to the realms of death (13).
Apply
Who are your role models, and why? What qualities in your life would you like others to aspire to?
Closing prayer
Lord Jesus, I give You my strengths and weaknesses. Use them for Your glory and for the building of Your Kingdom.
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