Scripture
5I am writing to remind you, dear friends, that we should love one another. This is not a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning. 6Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning.
2 John 1:5-6
Observation
John, described in scripture as “the disciple whom Jesus loved”, is schooling us once again when it comes to how we are living in relation to those around us. John’s certainty in knowing how to love others flowed from his identity in being loved by Jesus. This love is not some fad that is here today and gone tomorrow. This love is not seasonal or only required in good times. This love is from the beginning. It fills and pervades all of creation and is the very character of the God we serve. This love is not a suggestion, an option, or an invention. This love is a command. You cannot choose between following Christ and loving others. To follow Christ is to love others. This love is not an emotion. It impossible to fall in or fall out of this love. This love in the Greek is “Agape” and this love is a choice. The choice God made to send us His only Son. The choice the Son made to die on the Cross for a people cursing and crucifying Him. This is the choice we are commanded to make every day multiple times a day. In a world chooses to love self we are commanded to love others over self.
Application
Yesterday morning, Week 2 of distance learning at the Burgess home and my love was being tested big time. It was Monday. So there’s that. Then, after spending all of last week figuring out Zoom rooms with the boys and their classes I wake up to 500 notices that Zoom has crashed worldwide and that now our boys would be doing the class in Google Meet. I could feel my blood pressure rising and I knew it was time to pray. This is where agape love kicks in. It was a choice I made over and over again throughout the day. I didn’t choose it every time, but when I did it changed the atmosphere in the house. I chose a gracious response instead of a harsh one. I chose to be present in the moment instead of wishing it was over. I looked for ways to encourage as I realized everyone was in the same pressure cooker I was in. Love relieves the pressure, gives room for grace and space, and invites us all to a different perspective. Right now, we really need agape love in the time of COVID. In a time when everyone's plans have been canceled, we have become a cancel culture. Everyone is at each other's throats. Everyone is polarized in their opinions. Everyone is hiding in their echo chambers so they only hear what they already agree with. Civil discourse has died and extreme accusation has taken its place. What the world really needs are a bunch of Christ-followers who actually live out what we’ve been commanded- Love each other- no matter what! We can change the atmosphere where we wake, work, and worship when we choose to love whether we feel like it or not. Talk about a counter-culture movement that will make an eternal impact. Instead of choosing offense or building a fence, we can choose to love each other back to Jesus! It starts with remembering how much Jesus loves us!
Prayer
Thank You Jesus for loving me this way! For loving me no matter what. For loving me when I am completely unlovable. Forgive me for treating love like a suggestion or an option instead of a command. Forgive me acting like I can pick and choose who I will love or for how long. Our world is coming apart at the seams and Your love is the only way to reach people right where they’re at! Today I will have multiple opportunities to choose the agape love of The Savior or love of self. The truth is, I wouldn’t be here if You hadn’t chosen to love me! I can’t pay this back, but I can pay it forward.
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