Do you think we can ever love as Jesus loves us? This is the first New Testament commandment that Jesus gives us, he asks us to love one another. This is not a new commandment; it was in the Old Testament as well. “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” But it’s easier to love our favorite people, isn't it? You know, the ones that make us smile or laugh, it’s harder to love the ones that cut us off in traffic, or just make us angry, it’s tough to love those that test us. That’s when life gets tough and it’s easier to become part of this world.
In John 13:31-32 Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself and will glorify him at once.” He uses the word “Glorify” 5 times in these two sentences. Jesus wasn’t focusing on how bad things were going to get in taking on all our sins and dying on the cross for us. He was thinking about how it would glorify God. He was focused on the good it would do and not how horrible it was going to be. He was magnifying the positive and not focusing on the negative. He was focused on God’s love for us because in being crucified, he was performing the greatest act of love for us ever, so we could be part of his glory in His kingdom.
You see love is where this all starts and ends. God loves us more today, even on our worst day, than he will love us tomorrow. I’m not sure we really can wrap our brains around the fact that God’s love is completely unconditional, compassionate, and forgiving of us, hence the reason Jesus died on the cross for us.
Yes, God wants us to know right from wrong, but that doesn’t mean he stops loving us when we go down the wrong path. When you are the parent of a child, don’t you want that child to do the right thing and make good choices? Even though we may not be happy with their choices, we still love them. That’s the same with God for us. He wants us to make good choices; he wants us to learn from his Word, on how to handle the tough times. It says in John 16:33, In this world, you will have trouble. It’s the choices we make in those times that define who we are in Christ. It’s not easy and it never will be, but when we walk with love for Christ, we can do all things through Christ.
Jesus makes it look so easy to love. Even on the cross, he said “Father forgives them, they know not what they do.” Every day, I thank God for His mercy and His grace, because I know as hard as I try, I fall short in every way. This life is a journey and though we might do really well one day and then we have a week that tests every ounce of our being, that’s what this life is all about. It’s how we handle those hard times and what choices we make along the way. I don’t know about you, but before I open my mouth or do anything from now on, I’m going to try very hard to think of Jesus and how he handled his hardships in this world and use him as my example in how to handle mine.
Let’s pray:
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you so much for your son, Jesus. What he has done for us is the greatest gift of love and we can never repay him for that. Thank you that you love us so much that you give your only son for our sins. Thank you that you watch over us and guiding us in the direction of your will. We don’t want to do this life without you Lord. We praise you and love you. In Jesus' Holy name we pray. Amen
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