Love.

I have never met anyone who disagrees with the thought, “the world needs more love.” But like so many words or ideas in the world and even in the Chirstian journey, love can have many definitions. There is the “why can’t we all just get along” kind of love. Or the, “maybe someone will ride in and sweep me off my feet and ride into the sunset together” kind of love. And one of my favorites, “I love my dog” kind of love. But then there is love as Jesus loved. It is much easier said than done. We know in our hearts that it is right. We know from the Bible that it is what we are called to do.

If I am totally honest, love as Jesus commanded is hard.  If I am even extra, totally honest (if that is even possible), it can be so hard that sometimes I just choose not to love. It is much easier to love when it is convenient than when it calls me to “lay down my life for my friends” (John 15:13). 

But living a life of love, as Jesus loved, will require that we love when it is hard. It will require us to go against the grain of what is easy. It will require us to fight against the desire to “get even.” It will require us to love even when we know that the love will not be received or even rejected.  But, when we step into that type of loving, we will know Jesus at the deepest level. 

So here we find Jesus in John 13,  “having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end….He knew who was going to betray Him.” Love was the action of His entire relationship with the disciples from beginning to end no matter what. There He was, on His knees with a towel in hand washing the feet of Judas who would sell Him to be murdered. He was loving Judas. Can you imagine that moment for both of them?

What was going through Jesus’ mind? 

What was going through Judas’ mind? 

But that is not all. The entire scene was set for love. “Even the way the table was arranged demonstrated Jesus’ love. The seating arrangement (from left to right) was Judas, Jesus, and John. Jesus’ head was at Judas’ breast as they reclined together…Jesus had given Judas the left-hand side, the place of honor.”¹ The place of honor for the one He knew would reject His love. With His heart aching, Jesus says to them, “one of you will betray me (v.21).” Imagine the confusion in the room as Peter leans over to John to ask, “who is He talking about?” “Jesus then answered, “That is the one for whom I shall dip the morsel and give it to him.” So when He had dipped the morsel, He took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot (V.26).”  

This is an easy to miss but incredibly profound moment for us to learn from in our journey to live a life of love. The dipping of the morsel was not just a random act or secret signal to give the disciples a sign to identify the betrayer. It was an act of love. As Hughes writes, “In the culture of that time, to take a morsel from the table, dip it in the common dish, and offer it to someone else was a gesture of special friendship.” There was Jesus looking Judas in the eyes and saying to him with His actions, “Judas, I know what you are about to do. But I also want you to know that I love you. I am offering you friendship. I am committed to you. Will you take it? I love you Judas.”

To live a life of love is to imitate the heart of Jesus as you look into the eyes of those you know will reject your offer. 

To live a life of love is to actively pursue the good of the one being loved.

To live a life of love is to embrace the possibility of rejection while continuing to love.

To live a life of love is to say “no” to the pride in our heart that would rather reject and “yes” to the humility that it takes to offer the morsel of friendship.

To live a life of love, as Jesus loved, is to know Him deeply.

Will you love?

1. R. Kent Hughes, John, That You May Believe (Wheaton, Ill: Crossway, 1999), 328-329. ↩︎