"What is love, baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me no more."
Man, isn't that just how it is? We're afraid to love, because we're afraid of getting hurt?
Consider John 13 with me. This is the time when Jesus having the Last Supper with His disciples. They've spent three years together, ministering to each other, Jesus, and the people; and, now they're approaching the time for the final meal. At this point, I'm sure the disciples weren't fully aware that Jesus would be leaving them, although He had mentioned it repeatedly throughout His ministry. They were probably just reclining and enjoying the celebratory meal of the Passover, while excitedly awaiting the Passover Festival.
Before Jesus begins to break the action, John describes His attitude by saying, "Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end." An accurate description of His lifestyle, this seems to embody all that Christ was about: love. To put actions to words, Jesus stands up and begins to wash His disciples' feet. And, if that's not enough, He continues to eat with the disciple that will betray Him, giving no further thought to regret, emotion, or retribution. How is it that this man, called Jesus, can do the unthinkable and love the person that is about to betray Him??
Finally, He leaves His disciples with one last command: Love one another. He said, "And 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."
It seems that we are only willing to love others when they are lovable. Going back to the lyrics to the song above, we're seemingly not able to love people after we've been hurt by them. I think Jesus was saying, "Love anyway. I don't really care if you've been hurt, just do what you know that you're supposed to do." To me, that's powerful.
This week, you will have many opportunities to love others. Some will be dear to you, while others will want nothing to do with you. Love them anyway. Love the ones that are close to you, because Jesus first loved them. Love those that hate you, because Jesus first loved them. Love without fear of getting hurt. Love without fear of retaliation. Just love.
God's blessings on your life this week,
Bryan
http://thebtaylor.blogspot.com
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