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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.

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