Simple, Yet Daunting

It's so blindingly simple, yet so daunting at the same time, I suppose.

In the Christian Bible, according to John the evangelist, Jesus said, "I give you a new commandment, that you should love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35, New Revised Standard Version. Italics mine.) I'm afraid those of us who frequent and/or lead Christian worship hear these words so often that we don't truly hear them anymore.

This is not any old love Jesus is talking about. This love is not based on warm and gushy feelings, on affection for those close to us, on general "niceness," or even on random acts of kindness. This love is very specific, and Jesus is the core of that specificity. It is a love defined by the event we recognize this day, a day known to Jesus-followers as "Good Friday." It is a willing to face the worst kind of abandonment and execution possible love. It is a sacrificial love; a love especially seeking those who are the least lovable. It is a love based on choice, not feeling. It is a love given even if it is rejected. This love has open borders, welcoming and even seeking the stranger. It is a love beyond human comprehension. Only God can author it. This is why the phrase, "as I have loved you," defines the verses above.

The words, "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples," demand my attention. We wonder why more people don't fill the pews of churches in this land. We fret over what to do to inspire more people to commit to Christ and the Church. People who are serious about disciple-making pour all kinds of effort into evangelism studies, books, events, seminars, and programs. All of these are good and necessary. But John is reminding us that it is the practice of this beyond-comprehension love that will capture the attention of a yet-to-be reached world. Before people even know Jesus, they will say, "I want to find out what those people have!" The sermons, classes, seminars, and programs can augment the practice of loving one another as Jesus has loved us, but they cannot replace it. And without having the practice of Jesus-specific love in place, all those things are a waste of time and energy.

Jesus' command seems so simple and clear. Why is it so hard for the organized church to invite that to happen? I hope God unleashes something in our midst this Easter, calling on us to set everything else aside that the sacrificing, chosen, God-authored Jesus-love for one another would spread like a wildfire in our midst.

Have an awesome Resurrection Day. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.