| John 13:34-35
What does it look like to love God and to follow Jesus? Hundreds of voices around us shout very different answers to such questions. Believe this! Do that! Follow me! It can be confusing, even frightening, to a genuine seeker longing to know God.
But in today’s passage, we learn how Jesus wants believers to act on their faith—during His last dinner with the disciples, He simply encouraged them to “love one another.” This, Jesus says, is how the world will know we are His followers (John 13:34-35). Love will be the fruit, the sign, the proof.
What does this love look like? That’s a fair question, and Jesus has that covered, too: “Just as I have loved you, you should love each other” (John 13:34 NLT). Turning with compassion to the hungry, sick, fearful, and vulnerable, Jesus spent His life putting aside status in order to serve. He confronted the greedy and those using God’s name to amass power for themselves. In a startling act of humble service, He got down on the floor to wash the feet of His followers. And soon after, He went to the cross in the most stunning display of love in history.
Our marching orders, then, are to love in the ways Jesus loved. This is how the world will know we are His. This is how the world will know Him.
Bible in One Year: 1 Samuel 1-3 |
