Ewwwwie! Yuuuuuckk! Ohhhhh!

Cue all the raspberry sounds and the sing-song teasing. The sounds that would follow every year when I first told my Elementary students that we were all going to love each other that school year. As their teacher, it was my responsibility to teach them subject content, but I always felt called to teach them character and, honestly, the Gospel, without being able to say the words, being a public school teacher. The Good News (pun intended) is that I was able to use the most powerful words from God and Jesus: “love.”

There are so many layers of love. From caring of the wellbeing of a stranger on the street, to sharing a moment with a friend, to committing to marriage or an adult relationship, to guiding your children-each of these actions leads to and connects with the love that Jesus taught us when He was on this earth, and the agape (deep, unconditional love) that God continues to show us today.

1 John 4:7-8 states it so simply; “love one another, for love comes from God.” The thing is it’s not so simple when you start to realize that “one another” means everybody. The wonderful news is we do not have to figure out how to love one another alone, we can talk to God about it any time and always look at the example Jesus left for us. 

The author of 1 John was John, son of Zebedee, brother of James, and one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. When you see “we,” “us,” “our” throughout 1 John, it’s not just a writing style, it’s a way to remind us that this book of the bible was written by someone who was there, using a first-person point of view. John retells what he heard, learned and saw Jesus do himself! There is no mistaking this: it’s not a ‘story’ passed down that could possibly change. It was an eyewitness account. 

The book of 1 John was written to remind its readers of the foundation of a Christian life, and I see love as a top contender of that foundation.

So, how do we love one another? Well there is no one better to look to than Jesus.

• “Jesus wept.” (John 11:35) While it is a seemingly short, insignificant verse, these two words say it all. Jesus was fully human and He showed us how to care deeply for our friends and those around us when He mourned the death of His friend, Lazarus. 

• “When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36) This verse reminds us to love everyone including the lost and needy. This could include your family and friends but it also definitely includes people that are currently strangers to us. We are called to love everyone and to point them in the direction of God so that they may encounter His love too.

• “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13) Sacrifice. I feel like that word is so heavy that it needed to stand alone for a moment. Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice, giving His life for all our sins. I know that is said and written almost verbatim in many places and I pray that it never loses its heaviness to me. 

• “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) A reminder that Jesus loves us but The Father loves us too. I didn’t want to end today without reminding you that. 

God, I pray that everyone reading this knows You love them without them having to do anything. I pray that they fully know Your love by coming to you in a true relationship. I pray as they come to know your agape love that it will spill out to others around them. Amen.