Hello dear friends. I wanted to share with you a passage that has been rocking me lately and I hope it encourages you today.
John 13:1 says, "Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that he should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end." I love this passage, particularly the bolded part. It is so beautiful to me. Think about it with me.
This is the same chapter where Jesus identifies his betrayer and tells Peter, his most exuberant disciple, that he will deny him thrice before the rooster crows. His time in the world is not long at this point. Jesus goes on to teach for a few more chapters before his arrest but I find it so interesting that this is how the chapter starts. I think this passage is a beautiful expression of both Jesus' humanness and Godliness. Jesus knows in his heart his time is short and so he takes this time (chapters 13-17) to spend time with those whom he dearly loves. He spends it imparting wisdom, feasting, and teaching them lessons that will serve them for the rest of their lives. That is the Godly part of him being revealed. I can appreciate the Godly part because his words affect my life today. It is the human part though that resonates. With his time short on the earth, Jesus chooses those who walk with him over anyone else. They are his disciples yes. But they are his friends as well. He loved them with his dying breath.
Now I know of course that Jesus' love is eternal and he has always and will always love his disciples as well as all of us. The human part of him loves his friends like we love our friends. To the end. And I love that. To me it shows that he how human he was. Sometimes I think when reading through the gospels I forget that beyond the miracles and red letter words is a human. I love this passage because it explicitly says that He loves us to the end. To the end of our lives or the end of eternity he loves us to the end. This passage served as a gentle reminder that I am a little like my savior because I love my friends to the end as well. The end of my life or this season I am in. I don't know if this is encouraging but I hope it will be.
God Bless y'all
