John 14:18-21…“They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.” vs. 21
At first this may seem like a tough standard. Jesus says those that love him are those who have his commandments and keep them, and we immediately question just what those commandments are. It turns out he isn’t talking about the Ten Commandments, but the one he had just shared with the disciples at the Passover meal. “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.”
Everything in the Kingdom of Peace established by Jesus is centered on love, the love that we have for God and the love that we have for our neighbor. In another place he mentions that these are the two great commandments, and that they are the standard for a life of faith. Here he makes an additional promise, namely, that through this love he is revealed.
We’re considering this text on the day our country celebrates mothers. It’s no stretch to imagine that what we’re really celebrating is the sustaining and nurturing love that comes by grace from Jesus. Even though mothers are not perfect, there is truth in the metaphor of a mother’s love, For many it’s the finest love they will ever know! So it may even be that we have seen Jesus most clearly in the love of our mother.
Thought for the Day: How is Jesus’ love like that of a mother?
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