John 13:34-35

New International Version (NIV)

As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

For meditation

Love is such an overused word these days that it has lost its meaning in many instances, and does not excite any more. The word itself has not changed, but its usage has. Love has been used for almost everything and thrown around so carelessly that one has to spend an extra thousand words to reveal what they really mean when they say, “I love you”. It’s been stripped of its beauty and charm. But, when you delve deep to its core, you will see love at its best. A story the son of our church’s secretary sent to his mother a day before her birthday illustrates this.

He tells of a very poor man and his wife. The woman was adorned with very long and beautiful hair, and for its proper grooming, she asked her husband to buy a special comb for her. It broke the man’s heart because he couldn’t even afford to repair the broken strap of his watch. The woman did not insist.

On his way to work that day, the man went to a watch store, sold his damaged watch at a giveaway price, and bought the comb for his wife. He went home that night, excited to surprise his wife. However, he was rather surprised.

His wife had shaved her hair and sold it to buy a new watch strap for him. As they embraced, their tears flowed, not for the futility of their actions, but for the reciprocity of their love.

You see, love is the most beautiful word in the entire universe, because it’s the very essence of God (1 Jn. 4:16). When God defined love for the world, He did so by giving His one and only Son as sin offering to bring us back to Himself  (Jn. 3:16). While we were still sinners, God gave us the greatest gift in Jesus to demonstrate the extent of His love for us (Rm. 5:8). When we come to Jesus, we take on His nature, and He gives us His Spirit who enables us to love the way He loves – sacrificially (2 Cor. 1:22; Gal. 5:22). He commands His disciples to reveal Him to the world by loving one another as He has loved us (Jn. 13:34-35).

So, as Christians, we don’t love as the world does. We don’t use love as a tool to deceive, a con word to entice, or anesthesia to have our way with the unsuspecting. We give ourselves to make others better to demonstrate God’s love for the world through Christ Jesus – the greatest gift of all.

Shalom