Love Gives Its Best

I once participated in a service of praise, prayer, and foot washing with Christian people during the Lenten season. Sitting in a circle, one by one, we knelt, washed, and dried our neighbour's feet, using a basin of warm water and a towel. Some I only knew socially, and I confess that I felt uncomfortable having someone I was only acquainted with wash my feet! Nonetheless, it was a moving and memorable event.

If I felt uncomfortable, can you imagine how the disciples must have felt, having their Lord and Master Jesus kneel and wash their feet Himself? (John 13:3-12) Perhaps this came to mind when John wrote years later, encouraging us to love each other as Christ did.

1 John 4:7-12 – Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. (NKJV)

John frequently urged believers to love each other; it was his central message. Love is of God, and to be born of God, and to claim that we know Him, we must be able to love those in His body, the church. Jesus' love was given without demand for repayment, even to the point of sacrificing Himself for our sakes. Nothing else would satisfy God's demand for justice for sin, but His love saved us from the judgment that we deserved, and love enables us to grow and live through Him. God did not withhold His best gift, His own Son, "His indescribable gift". (2 Corinthians 9:15b NKJV)

If God did this for us — rebels who turned our backs on Him — how much more are we to love each other, even if it's uncomfortable! How will you respond to His indescribable gift today? Love for others is the evidence that He is among us. People don't see God, but they will see His love shown in our lives. As we love one another, they will seek Him for themselves, in order to be loved by Him.

Prayer: Our Lord, we are amazed that You did not withhold from us Your own best gift, Your Son Jesus, for You love us that much. Help us to love each other as a witness to our world. Amen.

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