This I know. God is on my side. Psalm 56:9
God is on my side. Wow. If I could believe that--all the time, every day, in any situation: When I am afraid; When I feel like a failure; When I have a choice to follow God and do what He says is best for me or do my own thing; What would my choice be? What would your choice be? God is on your side. Do you believe that?
Before Jesus gave His life for all mankind and rose from the dead, conquering sin and death for all time, He gave His disciples a command; He said, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." (John 13:34)
What's interesting about this command is that it wasn't really new. From the beginning of the Hebrew Nation when Moses led God's people to the Promised Land of Israel, God had given them a few commandments that Jesus Himself said were the most important:"Listen to God...love God with all of your heart...and love your neighbor as yourself." (Mark 12:28-31)
The central part of Jesus' message was love. God's love and mercy for all people was the Good News He came to share. It wasn't earned love, it was love to simply receive: To believe in God's forgiveness, mercy, and blessings and live in that love in every area of life. Not to be religious. Not to follow a long list of rules. Not to offer sacrifices to be forgiven of sin or live under the curse it had brought to the world; But to live in freedom, peace, joy, and love.
So why did Jesus call this a "new" command? Loving others was nothing new, but the original command said '...love your neighbor as yourself.' (Leviticus 19:18). Jesus changed it when He said, "As I have loved you, so you must love one another." At first glance, this command actually seems harder than the first, even impossible. To love someone as I love myself, I can probably do that most of the time if I really try, although I'm sure I would still fail at it plenty. But to love others as God loves me? He's kidding, right? How can I possibly love even those closest to me that much, let alone people who annoy me, have different beliefs, hurt me, or are just idiots? Thanks for raising the bar, Jesus--as if it wasn't already high enough. (Eyes-rolling Emoji)
But the beauty of His command can be seen when I take a closer look. It's not just about loving others as God loves me, it's about believing just how much I am loved. God does not expect us to give something that is not a part of us. While some have the ability to love more than others due to upbringing and receiving plenty of human love themselves, no one can love like God loves innately. We simply are not born with that capacity in our broken humanness. We are too selfish, fearful, and weak. We can only love like that when God's love is the central part of our being; and the only way to have that is to receive His love every day, every hour, every moment.
Knowing how much of God's love I'm receiving can be difficult to measure. How much is all? How much is enough? How much am I receiving today compared to yesterday or last month or last year? But here's a good gauge to go by: if you're having trouble loving others, if you're having trouble keeping any of God's commands, you're not receiving enough of His love.
"As I have loved you..." Think about what that means. It means a lot of things, and it means different things to different people. But this I know: It means God is on my side; and He's on yours too. Hear it, believe it, and live like it. Live loved. Live forgiven. Live free. He loves you, He loves you, He loves you; and He is for you, not against you. He is on your side.
Psalm 56:9 (NLT); Mark 12:28-31: paraphrase mine
God is on my side. Wow. If I could believe that--all the time, every day, in any situation: When I am afraid; When I feel like a failure; When I have a choice to follow God and do what He says is best for me or do my own thing; What would my choice be? What would your choice be? God is on your side. Do you believe that?
Before Jesus gave His life for all mankind and rose from the dead, conquering sin and death for all time, He gave His disciples a command; He said, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." (John 13:34)
What's interesting about this command is that it wasn't really new. From the beginning of the Hebrew Nation when Moses led God's people to the Promised Land of Israel, God had given them a few commandments that Jesus Himself said were the most important:"Listen to God...love God with all of your heart...and love your neighbor as yourself." (Mark 12:28-31)
The central part of Jesus' message was love. God's love and mercy for all people was the Good News He came to share. It wasn't earned love, it was love to simply receive: To believe in God's forgiveness, mercy, and blessings and live in that love in every area of life. Not to be religious. Not to follow a long list of rules. Not to offer sacrifices to be forgiven of sin or live under the curse it had brought to the world; But to live in freedom, peace, joy, and love.
So why did Jesus call this a "new" command? Loving others was nothing new, but the original command said '...love your neighbor as yourself.' (Leviticus 19:18). Jesus changed it when He said, "As I have loved you, so you must love one another." At first glance, this command actually seems harder than the first, even impossible. To love someone as I love myself, I can probably do that most of the time if I really try, although I'm sure I would still fail at it plenty. But to love others as God loves me? He's kidding, right? How can I possibly love even those closest to me that much, let alone people who annoy me, have different beliefs, hurt me, or are just idiots? Thanks for raising the bar, Jesus--as if it wasn't already high enough. (Eyes-rolling Emoji)
But the beauty of His command can be seen when I take a closer look. It's not just about loving others as God loves me, it's about believing just how much I am loved. God does not expect us to give something that is not a part of us. While some have the ability to love more than others due to upbringing and receiving plenty of human love themselves, no one can love like God loves innately. We simply are not born with that capacity in our broken humanness. We are too selfish, fearful, and weak. We can only love like that when God's love is the central part of our being; and the only way to have that is to receive His love every day, every hour, every moment.
Knowing how much of God's love I'm receiving can be difficult to measure. How much is all? How much is enough? How much am I receiving today compared to yesterday or last month or last year? But here's a good gauge to go by: if you're having trouble loving others, if you're having trouble keeping any of God's commands, you're not receiving enough of His love.
"As I have loved you..." Think about what that means. It means a lot of things, and it means different things to different people. But this I know: It means God is on my side; and He's on yours too. Hear it, believe it, and live like it. Live loved. Live forgiven. Live free. He loves you, He loves you, He loves you; and He is for you, not against you. He is on your side.
Psalm 56:9 (NLT); Mark 12:28-31: paraphrase mine
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