Thursday, June 30, 2022
Now before the Passover Feast, Jesus knew that His hour had come [and it was time] for Him to leave this world and return to the Father. Having [greatly] loved His own who were in the world, He loved them [and continuously loves them with His perfect love] to the end (eternally). John 13:1 Amplified
The Greek translation for the end of this passage is the word “teleos” which also means to the fullest extent. Jesus showed them the full extent of His love – perfect love to the end, eternally, to the fullest extent, to the uttermost.
Christ’s character is love. His nature is to love, and He gave us example after example of what it looks like to love like He does. We cannot be a true servant without loving like Christ does. Otherwise, we are simply going through the motions to check it off a list.
Servant Love
Servant love is that it is constant, never ending, and eternal. This constant love gives us belonging and acceptance, a deep human need. Without truly feeling unconditional acceptance we cannot feel unconditionally loved.
Constant love looks past a multitude of sins and forgives over and over again. It creates security and trust and eliminates fear. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear. I John 1:8 When there is no love, it creates distrust and insecurity which is fear. When love is expressed it deepens and increases creating more security.
Constant love creates a feeling of significance…to feel recognized…loved. This kind of love draws us in because deep down inside, we yearn for it. When we feel loved and accepted with someone, we feel we can always come to them authentically. The love that God has for us allows us to feel this way. This unconditional love and acceptance – or fellowship - should be felt at church and draw people in. When we can get people to feel like they belong, they will be more open to believe what we try to teach them.
Constant love is a selfless love. To have the selfless love of a servant, we have to keep our own selfishness from keeping us from serving like Jesus. Jesus gave us the ultimate example of selfless love when He sacrificed His life for our redemption and salvation. He had all the power He needed to come down off the cross, but He did not. He chose to take our punishment so we could be forgiven. Is there a more selfless act?
We talked about it yesterday, but during the last supper with the disciples, He washed their feet, a humble act of service. Can you imagine Jesus washing your feet? I would never consider myself worthy enough to receive any act of service from Jesus, and most of all not getting my feet washed! During this time, it was the custom for the lowest servant of the house to wash the feet of any guests that came into the house. He wanted to show them that serving one another was important to Him, and as He has shown to us, we should show the same to others.
Servant love is a constant love. It is always there, forgiving, seeks to make others feel important and loved. It is a pouring out of ourselves for others in a way that shows Jesus to them. It takes our time and our attention. It takes sacrifice, giving of ourselves.
