February 15, 2019 (Friday)
Jesus left Heaven and all its glory and came to earth as a little baby. In reading the gospels, we see Him lying in a manger, then he is taken to the Jerusalem temple to be consecrated to God by his earthly parents, later receiving gifts from Eastern kings, soon thereafter taken by his parents into Egypt to escape the murderous plot of King Herod before returning to Nazareth in Galilee where he was raised in a devout family. At the age of 12 He was taken again to the temple in Jerusalem where he declared that He “must be about His Father’s business.” We do not see Jesus again until He comes to John the Baptist to be baptized as an announcement that His ministry is beginning. Three and one-half years of ministry follow until Jesus goes to Jerusalem with His disciples for one final week, at the end of which He is crucified upon a cruel Roman cross.
On the night before being crucified, Jesus met with His disciples and told them He had a new commandment for them: “Love one another as I have loved you.”
As you probably know, the Greek language spoken in those days had several words for different kinds of love. The word used by Jesus that night described a sacrificial, self-giving love totally dedicated to the good of someone else. It’s the same word used in John 3 which says “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son..” What Jesus said to His disciples was tantamount to saying to us, “My will for each of you is that you love others in the same way that God loves you.”
The Cross is the symbol of that love.
That kind of love is real.
It is the kind of love God wants you to have in your heart and express with your deeds. If a person can be described as “Christlike,” he or she is living a life that demonstrates the love of God in Christ.
