Lenten Study Companion - Week 4

"If you love me, you will keep my commandments." 

John 14:15

Pretty simple, right? To love Jesus means we follow His commandments. After all, weren't the commandments things like not killing anyone, worshipping other gods, or committing adultery? If that’s what Jesus is talking about, we’re doing pretty well. Most of us probably haven’t killed anyone; even if we've had rough relations with our parents, deep down we still probably love them; and it’s probably safe to say that not many of us are melting down gold to make statues of cows worship so that we can worship them [see Exodus 32]. By that account, we must all love Jesus.

But that’s not all of it, is it? If we turn back a few pages in The Gospel of John, Jesus gives His disciples a new commandment. He says, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” This is the commandment to which Jesus refers when we says “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” If we love Jesus, we will love one another as Jesus has loved us.

When we think of what it means to love as Jesus loved, our focus is drawn to Jesus and the adulterous woman at the well, the paralyzed man who had been stepped over for over thirty years, to the blind, the leprous, the poor, the dejected, the rejected, and to the disciples themselves. Jesus was in relationship with these people. To love as Jesus loved, we must look past what we see and share in the joys and sorrows of the people around us, regardless of who they are, where they’ve been, or where they might be going. If we do this, we’ll begin to discover that our own love of God has depth to it we never imagined and that we are transformed by it.

Reflection Questions:

• Where have you seen Jesus?
• How have you experienced Jesus' love?
• What would it mean for you to place yourself in a situation to love as Jesus loved?

Practices of Preparation:

• PRAYERS - ask God for the boldness and courage to love as Jesus loved
• PRESENCE - step outside of your comfort zone to have a conversation with someone about their day
• GIFTS - visit United Methodist Committee on Relief and see how the gifts of this church go to spreading the love of Jesus throughout the world.
• SERVICE - ask the person next to you in worship how you can pray for them
• WITNESS - share with someone how you experienced God by practicing one of these four things listed above

Yours,

Michael C. Andres

Director of Discipleship