Skip to main content

Devotional for April 9, 2020

Loving Like Jesus

 “A new command I give you: Love one another. 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.” (John 13:34-35 NIV)

 The night He was betrayed, Jesus gave His disciples two commands: the first was to continue to celebrate the Last Supper, to remember how He broke His body and shed His blood as a sacrifice to achieve our forgiveness of sins on the cross. The second was for us to love each other as He loves us.

 In these days, the command to love each other is needed more than ever. Many of us remain physically separated from our families, friends, and neighbors, because of stay-at-home orders. We feel isolated and alone, which is an incredibly painful feeling. Without physical presence, it is hard for us to experience love. For those who, for whatever reason, already feel isolated and alone to begin with, this is especially painful. Those who already feel isolated and alone within their own families and neighborhoods especially feel this pain.

 This means that Jesus' command for us to love each other as He loves us is more needed than ever. Jesus' love for us is powerful: He loves each of us unconditionally, and accepts us just as we are. He loved each of us before we even heard of Him or loved Him back. He even loves those who do not love Him or believe in Him. He loved us so much He was willing to be God reaching out to us. Jesus did not hesitate to reach out to us; in fact, He even became one of us, a human being, to make God fully accessible to us, and to prove to us that God is always with us, is close to us, is involved with us, and is actively present with us all the time. And, as the greatest expression and proof of His love, He died on the cross to save us from sin and death, then rose again to achieve eternal life for us.

 Therefore, to help relieve the pain and loneliness of the isolation caused by the pandemic, Jesus' love is the best and most effective remedy. just as Jesus loves us, we show love to each other. As Jesus reached out to us, we reach out to each other. As Jesus is actively present with us, we are actively present with each other. As Jesus accepts us, we accept each other. We can reach out to each other through phone calls, texts, social media messaging, letters, cards, and many other ways. We can be actively present with each other by being available and listening, especially when anyone is hurting or suffering. We can accept each other by recognizing that each of us is valuable in God's sight, just as we ourselves are valuable in God's sight. Jesus loves us and is with each of us, powerfully present with us, in the midst of our loneliness and isolation. We can help each other experience His powerful love and presence by showing His love and being present with each other.

 Dear Jesus, help me to love others as you love me. In your Name, Amen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Devotional for March 28, 2020

Still Connected "These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God, under the protection of the Mighty One with shouts of joy  and praise among the festive throng." (Psalm 42:4 NIV) One of the hardest adjustments many of us have had to make has been our churches closing. Worship services have stopped for at least the last couple of weeks all over the country, and this has affected both small and large churches. It has been hard having to stay home, seemingly disconnected from our friends and support at our churches, and having our worship routines seemingly disrupted. Yet the good news is that God is with us, any time, any where. He is not confined to one location, building, time of day, or day of the week. He is with us at every moment, and does not take a break from watching over us, because He is all-powerful. He is almighty and all-seeing, so He is able to be everywhere at once, and handle everything for every per...
Post a Comment
Read more

Devotional for May 7, 2020

Pray at All Times "Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people." (Ephesians 6:18 NIV) Today, and every day, we need prayer more than ever. Though there is talk of re-opening various state economies, even lifting restrictions on stay-at-home orders, progress continues to move slowly. While the increasing number of positive coronavirus results may simply indicate more testing, the coronavirus is still not going away. Our schools, and many other businesses, remain closed, and their future schedules and logistics remain uncertain. We need to turn to God in prayer for His help and deliverance more than ever today. There are many who are also on the front lines both of fighting the coronavirus, as well as those who continue to work even despite potential continued exposure to the coronavirus, who bravely and courageously continue to serve and even help heal and co...
Post a Comment
Read more

Devotional for March 29, 2020

Still In His Good Hands "The earth is the  Lord ’s,  and everything in it,  the world, and all who live in it." (Psalm 24:1 NIV) A certain insurance company frequently asks in its ads, "Are you in good hands?" And frequently we may wonder, with the pandemic seeming to worsen and not even reaching its predicted peak, whether we are in good hands, or whether events are doomed to spiral out of control.  The answer to that question can simply be found in a  popular gospel and camp song, which goes, "He's got the whole world in His hands." Our passage today gives us the promise that all the earth still belongs to God, and remains under His control. He created the earth - but He then did not, as some would imagine, step back and simply watch everything unfold, as a machine. Nor did He simply set natural processes in place, but remains distant and uninvolved Himself. Instead, He continues to remain actively and intimately involved. So much so that He ...
Post a Comment
Read more