"This is My command: Love one another"... You know this verse? Yeah, it's short and sweet and I think it's on at least a thousand book marks. But if you've grown up in Church you've probably always seen it in a Cutesy, on a child's T-Shirt way that I always have.
Here's the full verse.
This is My command: Love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, that someone would lay down his life for his friends.-John 15:12-13 (HCSB)
That's not cute-sy. That's hard core!
How has Christ Loved you?
I spoke to the teens about this yesterday at church, but what if you, as my friend or my acquaintance, were standing in front of an 18-wheeler you didn't see it but I did. I jumped in front of it taking the fatal hit and pushing you out of the way.
Everyone would think that was awesome! Aw, what a heroic and noble act. Stories about the Good Samaritan would be on the front page of the local newspaper and maybe even on the national headlines.
Is that the kind of love God calls us to? If He says, "Love one another as I have loved you." Is that how He loved us?
Although I think that would be noble, I don't think it grasps Christ's love. Because truthfully I could do that out of a "spur of the moment instinct" myself, without Christ doing it through me.
But what if it was your worst enemy? What if it was that person who hated you. Who spread deceiving, lies and rumors about you. Harmed your children. Cursed and spat upon you. Hated you so much that they were plotting your death. What if they were standing in front of an 18-wheeler they didn't see? You came and pushed them out of the way and took the brutal death in their place.
That's Crazy! That's not easily explained or understood...
THAT's Christ's love!
That's what He knowingly did on our behalf. He knew who we'd be. He knew what a sinner we would become. He knew how often we would deny Him, out of fear for our reputation. He knew how we would intentionally hurt His children. HE knew all of this and yet died in our place anyway.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.-Romans 5:8
Pushing someone out from in front of a truck is kind of extreme though, that doesn't happen everyday, but here's things that do. This is how we are to love like Christ daily. When someone deeply hurts you, destroys your trust or mistreats you - do you love them anyway. Are our affections easily earned or quickly lost, are we distrusting for fear of being hurt? Do you love despite your fear, because we aren't supposed to love for what we can get out of a relationship in the first place...If we're loving like Christ.
I mean we should go out of our way to treat them with respect and; well...this is an area that needs to be surrendered to Christ so that He can do it through us...because our desire is not to/it can't be, to impress Christ. His desire is not for us to "be good for Him" His desire is for us to be Like Him. For us to surrender daily to be molded into His image. To imitate Him as dearly beloved children. (Ephesians 5:1-2)
To love one another as Christ has loved you, requires a daily laying down of pride and self. It is daily saying, "not me but You Lord". It is daily not looking to be good or to do the good moral thing, but wanting to look like Christ and seeking His direction, which can't be done without consulting Him first.
That a Perfect Savior would die my death, that I deserved, to satisfy the righteousness of God on my behalf...
- that, "That's" The Love of Christ....!
Here's the full verse.
This is My command: Love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, that someone would lay down his life for his friends.-John 15:12-13 (HCSB)
That's not cute-sy. That's hard core!
How has Christ Loved you?
I spoke to the teens about this yesterday at church, but what if you, as my friend or my acquaintance, were standing in front of an 18-wheeler you didn't see it but I did. I jumped in front of it taking the fatal hit and pushing you out of the way.
Everyone would think that was awesome! Aw, what a heroic and noble act. Stories about the Good Samaritan would be on the front page of the local newspaper and maybe even on the national headlines.
Is that the kind of love God calls us to? If He says, "Love one another as I have loved you." Is that how He loved us?
Although I think that would be noble, I don't think it grasps Christ's love. Because truthfully I could do that out of a "spur of the moment instinct" myself, without Christ doing it through me.
But what if it was your worst enemy? What if it was that person who hated you. Who spread deceiving, lies and rumors about you. Harmed your children. Cursed and spat upon you. Hated you so much that they were plotting your death. What if they were standing in front of an 18-wheeler they didn't see? You came and pushed them out of the way and took the brutal death in their place.
That's Crazy! That's not easily explained or understood...
THAT's Christ's love!
That's what He knowingly did on our behalf. He knew who we'd be. He knew what a sinner we would become. He knew how often we would deny Him, out of fear for our reputation. He knew how we would intentionally hurt His children. HE knew all of this and yet died in our place anyway.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.-Romans 5:8
Pushing someone out from in front of a truck is kind of extreme though, that doesn't happen everyday, but here's things that do. This is how we are to love like Christ daily. When someone deeply hurts you, destroys your trust or mistreats you - do you love them anyway. Are our affections easily earned or quickly lost, are we distrusting for fear of being hurt? Do you love despite your fear, because we aren't supposed to love for what we can get out of a relationship in the first place...If we're loving like Christ.
I mean we should go out of our way to treat them with respect and; well...this is an area that needs to be surrendered to Christ so that He can do it through us...because our desire is not to/it can't be, to impress Christ. His desire is not for us to "be good for Him" His desire is for us to be Like Him. For us to surrender daily to be molded into His image. To imitate Him as dearly beloved children. (Ephesians 5:1-2)
To love one another as Christ has loved you, requires a daily laying down of pride and self. It is daily saying, "not me but You Lord". It is daily not looking to be good or to do the good moral thing, but wanting to look like Christ and seeking His direction, which can't be done without consulting Him first.
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! - Romans 5:6-9 (NIV)
That a Perfect Savior would die my death, that I deserved, to satisfy the righteousness of God on my behalf...
- that, "That's" The Love of Christ....!
THAT, my friend, Rocks my Socks Off!
HIS clay~
Melissa Bradley
HIS clay~
Melissa Bradley
