John 13:21-38 | What's the lesson for me today?
In verse 34 of this passage, we are instructed to love one another as Jesus has loved us. That is an incredibly important line. What I have been recognizing over the course of the last several months is that I have failed to really understand the love of God. I have been in a very deep pursuit of grabbing ahold of that fact. It is central to the Gospel! The Gospel cannot be understood outside of love. There have been so many twistings and perversions of that narrative that I have spent the vast majority of my time explaining what it is not at the neglect of failing to understand what it is.
The life of the believer is one that operates out of the overflow. We love because HE first loved us. We do not conjure it up. We give back to Him that same manner of love that was given. Consider it this way. A child wants to get his father a present for Father's Day but doesn't have any money to do so. He goes up to his father and asks for some money to get him a present. The father gives the son $20 and takes him to the store to buy a Father's Day present. Now it is out of what the father has given to the son that the son has any ability to give back to the father. The son on his own couldn't. So the same for us. We receive from the Lord and give that back.
Our passage of discussion is not relating to the love we return to the Lord, but rather, it is relating to the love we have for one another. I want to be precise here. Jesus is speaking with His disciples when He says this.
35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.
-John 13:35
The love that is being talked about contextually is the love among disciples of Jesus. It is the love of the family of saints. They will know we are Christians by our love for one another. The love that is poured into our hearts is poured in among saints. We are to love our neighbors as ourselves, but we are to love one another as Jesus has loved us. I have heard this passage misquoted many times over. There is a special love that is held for the saints, among the saints, in Scripture. We do not see that so much today.
So what lesson is standing out to me today? I need to understand the love of God for me that I may then, in turn, love the body of Christ with His love.
What lesson is sticking out to you today?
The life of the believer is one that operates out of the overflow. We love because HE first loved us. We do not conjure it up. We give back to Him that same manner of love that was given. Consider it this way. A child wants to get his father a present for Father's Day but doesn't have any money to do so. He goes up to his father and asks for some money to get him a present. The father gives the son $20 and takes him to the store to buy a Father's Day present. Now it is out of what the father has given to the son that the son has any ability to give back to the father. The son on his own couldn't. So the same for us. We receive from the Lord and give that back.
Our passage of discussion is not relating to the love we return to the Lord, but rather, it is relating to the love we have for one another. I want to be precise here. Jesus is speaking with His disciples when He says this.
35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.
-John 13:35
The love that is being talked about contextually is the love among disciples of Jesus. It is the love of the family of saints. They will know we are Christians by our love for one another. The love that is poured into our hearts is poured in among saints. We are to love our neighbors as ourselves, but we are to love one another as Jesus has loved us. I have heard this passage misquoted many times over. There is a special love that is held for the saints, among the saints, in Scripture. We do not see that so much today.
So what lesson is standing out to me today? I need to understand the love of God for me that I may then, in turn, love the body of Christ with His love.
What lesson is sticking out to you today?
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2026
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John 14:22-31 | What's the lesson for me today?John 14:22-31 | What am I going to do about it?John 14:22-31 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 15:1-11John 15:1-11 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 15:1-11 | What's the connection?John 15:1-11 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 15:1-11 | What's the lesson for me today?John 15:1-11 | What am I going to do about it?John 15:1-11 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 15:12-27John 15:12-27 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 15:12-27 | What's the connection?John 15:12-27 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 15:12-27 | What's the lesson for me today?John 15:12-27 | What am I going to do about it?John 15:12-27 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 16:1-15John 16:1-15 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 16:1-15 | What's the connection?John 16:1-15 | What’s a lesson for the original audience?John 16:1-15 | What's the lesson for me today?John 16:1-15 | What am I going to do about it?John 16:1-15 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 16:16-33John 16:16-33 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 16:16-33 | What's the connection?John 16:16-33 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 16:16-33 | What's the lesson for me today?John 16:16-33 | What am I going to do about it?John 16:16-33 | Prayer Prompts
February
Passage of the Week: John 17John 17 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 17 | What's the connection?John 17 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 17 | What's the lesson for me today?John 17 | What am I going to do about it?John 17 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 18:1-11John 18:1-11 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 18:1-11 | What's the connection?John 18:1-11 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 18:1-11 | What's the lesson for me today?John 18:1-11 | What am I going to do about it?John 18:1-11 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 18:12-40John 18:12-40 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 18:12-40 | What's the connection?John 18:12-40 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 18:12-40 | What's the lesson for me today?John 18:12-40 | What am I going to do about it?John 18:12-40 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 19John 19 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 19 | What's the connection?John 19 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 19 | What's the lesson for me today?John 19 | What am I going to do about it?John 19 | Prayer Prompts
March
Passage of the Week: John 20John 20 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 20 | What's the connection?John 20 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 20 | What's the lesson for me today?John 20 | What am I going to do about it?John 20 | Prayer PromptsJohn 21 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 21John 21 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 21 | What's the connection?John 21 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 21 | What's the lesson for me today?John 21 | What am I going to do about it?Passage of the Week: Hebrews 1:1-4Hebrews 1:1-4 | What's happening (and who's involved)?Hebrews 1:1-4 | What's the connection?Hebrews 1:1-4 | What is a lesson for the original audience?Hebrews 1:1-4 | What's the lesson for me today?Hebrews 1:1-4 | What am I going to do about it?Hebrews 1:1-4 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: Hebrews 1:5-14Hebrews 1:5-14 | What's happening (and who's involved)?Hebrews 1:5-14 | What's the connection?Hebrews 1:5-14 | What's a lesson for the original audience?Hebrews 1:5-14 | What's the lesson for me today?Hebrews 1:5-14 | What am I going to do about it?Hebrews 1:5-14 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: Hebrews 2:1-4Hebrews 2:1-4 | What's happening (and who's involved)?Hebrews 2:1-4 | What's the connection?
April
Hebrews 2:1-4 | What's a lesson for the original audience?Hebrews 2:1-4 | What's the lesson for me today?Hebrews 2:1-4 | What am I going to do about it?Hebrews 2:1-4 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: Hebrews 2:5-9Hebrews 2:5-9 | What's happening (and who's involved)?Hebrews 2:5-9 | What's the connection?Hebrews 2:5-9 | What's a lesson for the original audience?
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