MARKS OF LOVE
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Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you for exchanging my sin for your righteousness. With all of heaven, I offer you praise today.
Read JOHN 13:31–38
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial
31 When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.
33 “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
36 Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”
Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”
37 Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”
38 Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!
Reflect
‘Jesus, thou art all compassion, / pure, unbounded love thou art.’1 Become aware of the depth of Jesus’ love for you and offer your love wholeheartedly to him.
What are your identity markers? Some of us wear a uniform: a school sweatshirt, medical scrubs, or a clerical collar. We might wear a badge or have a sticker on our car. These proclaim something about who we are and what groups we belong to. Here, Jesus tells his disciples what’s distinctive about those who belong to him. It’s not something they wear but their behavior. If they ‘love one another’ (v. 34), everyone will know that they are Jesus’ followers.
Jesus describes this as his ‘new command’ (v. 34). It’s the only place in John’s gospel where he uses this phrase, and you might wonder: what’s new about love? According to Jesus, the most important commands in the Hebrew Bible are to love the Lord your God and to love your neighbor as yourself.2 Jesus’ new command, however, is specifically for a love that is demonstrated within the community of his followers. It bears the characteristics of the love he has just shown toward them in washing their feet. Jesus’ disciples are to serve each other, relinquishing their status in the security of knowing that they are beloved children of God. As they all do this, they will find they are part of a community that is marked by mutual affection and acceptance of the love given by one another.
Do you recognize this picture in your own faith community? Sadly, as Peter shows, our words can fail to match our actions (vv. 37, 38). Sometimes, underlying differences of opinion in our churches boil over into hostility and even conflict. Remind yourself today of the primacy Jesus gives to mutual love and of the grace and mercy he shows to those of us who, like Peter, sometimes fail to live up to Jesus’ command.
Apply
Are there any areas where you harbor hatred or judgment against fellow Christians?
Closing prayer
Holy Spirit, cast your light over my life. Please show me where I need to ask for forgiveness and receive healing.
1 ‘Love divine, all loves excelling’, Charles Wesley 1747. 2 Luke 10:27, 28; Deut 6:5; Lev 19:18.
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