Hi there my dear
How have you been? I pray this coming week is less stressful for you than last week. Here’s today’s Holy Nougat
“Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”” John 13:35 NLT
What does this look like under our current circumstances? Tolerating hurtful behaviors, because love covers a multitude of sins? Being extra nice to people who could be vexatious to our spirits under normal circumstance? Providing ‘charity’ for the needy? Visiting the sick and infirm in our midst? All these may have their place in these times (albeit with some slight adjustments), but they might not be as practical outworking of the command to love each other as a living testimony.
Could it be that Christ knew that in seasons of crisis, even the strongest relationship faces the refiner’s fire? If those Alpha males who understudied Jesus could argue about greatness at random times along their journey with Christ, it is possible that they would challenge each other’s leadership in the days after Christ’s death. Or worse yet, there could have been a falling away without Jesus to anchor them. And if loving posed challenges to those who walked alongside Jesus, how much more can it be for us today?
Interestingly, this directive is strategically located after the sharing of the Last Supper and Jesus’ ultimate act of humility – foot washing. Love demands service from the heart, to affirm the humanity of another at the point where they are most vulnerable. For, in washing the feet, we get to the space that faces so much wear and tear, yetis often most ignored.
What are the vulnerable spaces around us now? Are we willing to be caught washing each other’s feet? How do we share the Cup of the new Covenant amidst physical distancing? I believe it is in our willingness to be humble before each other, forgiving wrongs but correcting in love. It is about remembering the true value of friendship – sacrifice of time, talent and treasure, often to the undeserving and the stranger.
It may mean that we get our hands dirty. We might even need to sanitize and distance afterwards. But it does ask that we identify practical ways to genuinely reflect God’s grace and compassion in both the public and private areas. For sure, it also means bearing each other up in prayer as we all seek to overcome the trials of the day.
May God’s grace sustain and restore us as we seek to love each other in seasons of crises.
In Christ’s love and grace . . .
