Jesus
said in John 13:34, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have
loved you, so you must love one another." I read that the other morning and
have been giving it some considerable thought.
My personal interpretation of what He said is: Bill, the only way anyone will
know that you are my disciple is to demonstrate it by your relationships. Therefore I am more hardily coming to practice loving those with
whom I have relationship. After going through arguments, my defenses and the
evidences, loving others is the final apologetic.
Of course, my relationship with another person is two sided and in a fallen world will not be idealistic, which is perhaps why Jesus chose an intimate occasion with his disciples to offer this command--during what is now called the Last Supper. The doctor Luke also records this occasion in his Gospel Luke 22, and here I gain some interesting insight about relationships that John doesn't mention as John's focus is on Jesus washing his disciples' feet. Luke writes, verse 24: "Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest." Luke does not say anything about the washing of the feet. But when I put the two texts together, I begin to see that Jesus is actually telling the disciples that by washing the feet of one another, they were going to demonstrate that they (and I) are living in an imperfect world where, to some degree, reflect the perfection of relationship that is part of the triune God.
It's not just my observation but many other fathers of daughters concur that daughters are famous for lecturing their fathers! And I have two! Now if Michelle and Amy were able to have lectured within the few seconds of their births, they would have given me a lecture that would have probably run along these lines: "You should be happy that I am born because before I was born, you had no object to love. But now that I am born, you can love me and therefore you are beginning to learn to love. And therefore (albeit in a peculiarly ironic way), I am your teacher and you are my student." In hindsight, I will have to say, "Amen."
However, if this scenario reflects my perception of God this would be problematic because He would be a God without an object to love. What do I mean? God is three-in-one: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in relationship. He is not impersonal but rather triune and thus relational. John, above all the other writers of the Bible, says that within the oneness of this God, there is a relationship. Take, for instance, John 14:8–11. When the disciple Philip asks Jesus to show the Father to them, Jesus chides Philip and his fellow disciples for not recognizing who he was in spite of being with him for so long. Jesus then goes on to explicitly tell them that those who have seen him have seen God! This claim is amazing, to say the least. Jesus describes his relationship to God in a way that no human being in his right mind has ever come close to saying. He and the Father are in a relationship that is so intimate--one is in the other and vice versa--that to see Jesus is to see God. Indeed, earlier in John's Gospel, Jesus declares, "I and the Father are one" 10:30.
Then I notice what Jesus says after "A new command I give you: Love one another": "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" John 13:35. Jesus did not give religious criteria by which we would be known as his disciples. He doesn't say, "You will be known as my disciples because you worship on Sundays, because you'll carry your Bibles—the bigger the better." No. "You will be known as my disciples because of how you relate to one another." It is a relational criterion rather than religious criteria.
So when I consider who I am as a follower of Christ, I am implored to first consider who God is. Thus, I must begin to think relationally, which is at the heart of reality: three persons, who in some amazing, mysterious way constitute one God. Here in John and Luke I understand Jesus is telling me that the relationship with the Godhead will be the standard by which my love for another would be measured. Not at the mega level, but at the micro level. Not when ten thousand people come and worship together, but when one or many more visit our home for a visit, a meal, a Bible study—neighborhood BBQ or Bible study—and our neighbors begin to see that we truly love one another. Because when I wash a person's feet and they wash my feet, the watching world sees two imperfect people, yes, but who belong to Jesus Christ and reflect his love in relationship. By this all will know that I am His disciple.
Of course, my relationship with another person is two sided and in a fallen world will not be idealistic, which is perhaps why Jesus chose an intimate occasion with his disciples to offer this command--during what is now called the Last Supper. The doctor Luke also records this occasion in his Gospel Luke 22, and here I gain some interesting insight about relationships that John doesn't mention as John's focus is on Jesus washing his disciples' feet. Luke writes, verse 24: "Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest." Luke does not say anything about the washing of the feet. But when I put the two texts together, I begin to see that Jesus is actually telling the disciples that by washing the feet of one another, they were going to demonstrate that they (and I) are living in an imperfect world where, to some degree, reflect the perfection of relationship that is part of the triune God.
It's not just my observation but many other fathers of daughters concur that daughters are famous for lecturing their fathers! And I have two! Now if Michelle and Amy were able to have lectured within the few seconds of their births, they would have given me a lecture that would have probably run along these lines: "You should be happy that I am born because before I was born, you had no object to love. But now that I am born, you can love me and therefore you are beginning to learn to love. And therefore (albeit in a peculiarly ironic way), I am your teacher and you are my student." In hindsight, I will have to say, "Amen."
However, if this scenario reflects my perception of God this would be problematic because He would be a God without an object to love. What do I mean? God is three-in-one: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in relationship. He is not impersonal but rather triune and thus relational. John, above all the other writers of the Bible, says that within the oneness of this God, there is a relationship. Take, for instance, John 14:8–11. When the disciple Philip asks Jesus to show the Father to them, Jesus chides Philip and his fellow disciples for not recognizing who he was in spite of being with him for so long. Jesus then goes on to explicitly tell them that those who have seen him have seen God! This claim is amazing, to say the least. Jesus describes his relationship to God in a way that no human being in his right mind has ever come close to saying. He and the Father are in a relationship that is so intimate--one is in the other and vice versa--that to see Jesus is to see God. Indeed, earlier in John's Gospel, Jesus declares, "I and the Father are one" 10:30.
Then I notice what Jesus says after "A new command I give you: Love one another": "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" John 13:35. Jesus did not give religious criteria by which we would be known as his disciples. He doesn't say, "You will be known as my disciples because you worship on Sundays, because you'll carry your Bibles—the bigger the better." No. "You will be known as my disciples because of how you relate to one another." It is a relational criterion rather than religious criteria.
So when I consider who I am as a follower of Christ, I am implored to first consider who God is. Thus, I must begin to think relationally, which is at the heart of reality: three persons, who in some amazing, mysterious way constitute one God. Here in John and Luke I understand Jesus is telling me that the relationship with the Godhead will be the standard by which my love for another would be measured. Not at the mega level, but at the micro level. Not when ten thousand people come and worship together, but when one or many more visit our home for a visit, a meal, a Bible study—neighborhood BBQ or Bible study—and our neighbors begin to see that we truly love one another. Because when I wash a person's feet and they wash my feet, the watching world sees two imperfect people, yes, but who belong to Jesus Christ and reflect his love in relationship. By this all will know that I am His disciple.
1 comment:
Good word, Bill
David
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