random musings

john 13:34 says, “a new commandment i give unto you that you love one another, even as i have loved you, that you love one another” (KJV). in the world today, the word love is used in so many different arenas: i love my wife, i love my son, i love football, i love pizza. love in the english language has such a broad meaning, which makes it very difficult to define. it is much easier to describe what love does than what love is. we often hear that love sees no wrong, and love conquers all. the scriptures have a more direct description: love is patient, love is kind, it does not seek its own prosperity, is not provoked, does not take into account wrongs suffered. love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. love never fails. a true, biblical love will produce these characteristics in our lives. but it doesn’t end there.

the verse goes on. when Jesus uses the phrase “even as i have loved you,” He refers to how God has loved us. the next logical question is, how has God loved us? john 3:16 addresses that issue: “for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…” His love for us is a sacrificial love, and that is the love we need to have for one another. a love that is not self-seeking. a love that is not afraid to reach out and touch someone. a love that gives. a love that makes a difference in someone’s life. because if our love has changed one life, it has changed the world.