“all men will know . . .”
Who do you love sacrificially?
- Your children?
- Your spouse?
- Your parents?
- Your grandchildren?
- Your pets?
- Your colleagues?
- Your neighbors down the street?
- Your enemies?
- Those who dislike you?
- Those who persecute you?
- Those who just really do not like you?
Who does the LORD command you to love sacrificially?
Let’s be real. We just have an easier time loving some over others. Maybe the ones we love MOST think like us, look like us, enjoy the things we like, or even are blood-related to us. So we think, “We’re supposed to love them, right?” However, what about the ones who do NOT think like us, look like us, who do not enjoy the things we enjoy, and are not related by blood to us? Are we supposed to love them too—sacrificially?
LORD, must I really LOVE those people too?
My enemies, LORD?
After dinner (the Lord’s Supper), after Jesus had dipped the morsel of bread,
“He took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.
(The Gospel According to John 13: 26b-30 NAS)
After the morsel, Satan then entered into him.
Therefore Jesus said to him,
“What you do, do quickly.”
Now no one of those reclining at the table knew for what purpose He had said this to him.
For some were supposing,
because Judas had the money box,
that Jesus was saying to him,
“Buy the things we have need of for the feast”;
or else, that he should give something to the poor.
So after receiving the morsel
he went out immediately;
[Judas left to do the devil’s work]
and it was night.”
Maybe, just as me, you have wondered: How could Judas have ever betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ? How could he do that, sell-out Jesus to the religious leaders?
Maybe, just as I have wondered, you too have pondered the question: Did Judas sense the moment Satan entered his heart, tempting him to do the devil’s work? & Why didn’t Judas turn away from the devil and turn back toward Jesus, refusing to do as the devil bid him to do?
Could it be that the answers to these questions can be found in Jesus’ next words spoken to His followers (after He commanded Judas to do quickly what the devil had enticed him to do)?
“So after receiving the morsel he went out immediately;
(The Gospel According to John 13: 30-35 NAS)
and it was night.
Therefore when he had gone out, Jesus said,
“Now is the Son of Man glorified,
and God is glorified in Him;
If God is glorified in Him,
God will also glorify Him in Himself,
and will glorify Him immediately.
Little children, I am with you a little while longer.
You will seek Me;
and as I said to the Jews, now I also say to you,
‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’
A new commandment I give to you,
that you love one another,
even as I have loved you,
that you also love one another.
By this all men will know that you are My disciples,
if you have love for one another.”
Could it be that the Lord Jesus Christ did EXACTLY what the LORD GOD sent Him to do?
Could it also be true that out of LOVE for His disciple, the Lord Jesus said Judas,
“What you do, do quickly.”
Could it be that the Lord Jesus Christ sacrificially went to the cross BECAUSE HE LOVES US SO MUCH?
As the children of God, saved by the shed blood of Jesus:
- We are called to be cross-bearers, not flag-bearers.
- We are called to be holy.
- We are called to be blameless before God.
One day soon, we will go home to our eternal home in heaven; therefore, while we are here, in the holding pattern, we must react, respond, and reach out to others in peculiar ways, knowing always that we are children of God.
- Troubles will come.
- Pain will be felt.
- Persecution may ensue.
- Hardship may abound.
Life situations are so super-small in relation to living & loving others like Jesus. So, if we find our identity with Christ, then we must act, react, respond, and reach out—just as Jesus commands.
- Our focus must be on Christ & His return.
- Our prayer must be for His second coming. &
While we wait, we must follow His new commandment he gave to His disciples.
“A new commandment I give to you,
(The Gospel According to John 13: 35 NAS)
that you love one another,
even as I have loved you,
that you also love one another.
By this all men will know that you are My disciples,
if you have love for one another.”