“It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end;” “‘My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come. A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.’” — John 13:1; 33-35
Valentine’s Day is fast approaching. I can’t believe it’s only a couple of days away. It’s one of my favorite holidays, because it is a national day to extend real love.
Love is something we choose to extend, not just to our immediate family and the inner circle of friends, but even to our acquaintances. You see, love has no race barrier, no religious barrier, no sex barrier, no language barrier and no educational barrier. Love has a sound and familiarity that every heart always hears, and it is easily recognized and accepted.
One of the best ways to live a good Christian life in the world today is to have a peaceful, harmonious home, characterized by love. The home is where love is meant to thrive; really it’s where love is supposed to begin. If love doesn’t begin at home, usually it doesn’t begin at all. So many modern-day homes in our world today are missing the main ingredient of real love.
What is real love?
Real love is when we look for ways to do good toward others, even when the person doesn’t deserve it! This is the Christ kind of love: Giving people not what they deserve, but what they need. If we can’t ever get to the place where we can love one another that way, how can we ever expect to demonstrate that kind of love to this sinful world?
In John’s Gospel, Jesus also talks about real love. He commands us to love one another — and that is not always easy. His command calls for a relinquishing of our own need for affirmation and self-preservation. It calls us to take risks in relationships and to readily forgive offenses. And it calls us not to let our own neediness get in the way of us loving others. God wants us to relinquish all of our needs to Him. And when we do, the Holy Spirit takes over. Then God places us on a path of transformation, eventually enabling us to love others as Jesus loves us.
That’s real love!
Rev. Marion J. Miller is the lead pastor of Later @ St. Luke’s, an evening multicultural worship service at 6 p.m. and located at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 100 W. 86th St. Visit her website at stlukesumc.com/worship/LATER or contact her at (317) 846-3404 or millerm@stlukesumc.com.
