Week 1 | Day 1 | The Way of Love

Command:

Love One Another John 15:17 (NIV)

Read:

“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)

Reflect:

Shortly after college I worked in a drug rehab ministry. Some of the residents were more lovable than others. The director was a former gangster and a wild man who loved Jesus with all his heart but could be particularly difficult to love. He was harsh, impulsive, and unpredictable. It was during this difficult season of my life that I was introduced to the idea of agape. 

The traditional definition of agape as unconditional love never made much sense to me; seemed a bit squishy. As the years went by, I began to realize that loving one another as Christ loved us means giving ourselves up for each other as Christ gave himself up for us. Agape means putting another’s needs before our own. I began to define agape as, “An assessment of another’s needs, the willingness to meet that need, even when it is inconvenient or unfair.” This is the prime indicator that we are following Christ and few things are more challenging. Seeing another through the filter of agape and following the Holy Spirit by loving them as Jesus would is truly walking in sync with him.

React:

People are often difficult because of an unmet need. Ask yourself, “What can I do to meet that need even if it is inconvenient or unfair?”

Pray:

Jesus, may I love the one in front of me as you are loving them in this moment.