“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another”. John 13: 35
In today’s world many people have mistaken love to be an emotion that we feel. It is common to hear of people talking about how they fall in and out of love. It is presented as almost a magical thing that can take you by surprise, overwhelm you with feelings and then suddenly disappear in the blink of an eye as if we have no control over it. When love is referred to in the bible it is not portrayed in this way.
Love is a choice. Love is a commitment. Love is an action that flows as a response to the love that we ourselves have received. God is love. It is not that he tries to be loving. It is his very nature. He cannot operate outside of who He is. It is just not possible. He is the source of love and from him love and life flows. You see when Jesus wanted to explain what love looked like he did not do it merely with words. He showed people through the sacrifice that he paid for us. When it came to loving us, Jesus demonstrated that he was all in. He held nothing back. For Jesus loving came at a price, the ultimate price - it cost him his life. Jesus wants us to know the depth of this love and the more we understand it the more our love for others will grow. 1 John 1 V 4 tells us that, “we love because he first loved us”. He has created us to receive his love. It is how we have been designed. We have been built to live life within the safety of a loving relationship with our heavenly Father where we can know acceptance, peace, security and that we belong.
This life of love then can flow from us to others. As Jesus says his life within us is like streams of living water flowing out to all those around us. It will begin with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We will be drawn to people who resemble Jesus and we will have a love for them that goes beyond anything we can find in the natural. We have probably all heard the saying “blood is thicker than water.” That is used to describe the ties between family members and the loyalty they demonstrate to each other. However there is a blood that has been poured out for us through the atoning death of Jesus. This blood not only covers our sins but also allows us to become part of a new family where we can experience what it truly means to love. This love is not dependent on a person’s behaviour or performance. This love will hold on when everyone else let's go. This love is patient, it is kind, it is slow to anger. We can never love this way without first receiving it. When we recognise the grace that has been poured out in our lives and the times we have been given a second chance we shower this same love on those around us. The love of Jesus is infectious.
Today He wants you to know that you are surrounded by his everlasting love and kindness and the more you soak in this love the more you will bring life and refreshing to those around you.
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Who Do You Say I Am Series – Exchange Church Belfast 2020