A Life Of Love

 

December 6

“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35

A Life of Love . . .by Denise J. Hughes

Jesus rose from the table, where He had just eaten the Passover meal with friends, and He removed His outer garment. He took a towel and tied it around His waist. Then He poured water into a basin and began to do the work of a lowly servant.

Jesus bent low, before each of the men who had spent three years following Him, and He washed their grimy feet. Jesus knew He had only a few hours left. He knew the cross awaited Him in the morning. So He used this time to impart His last words, while demonstrating the truth of what He spoke.

“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

As Jesus uttered these words, He illustrated its core meaning. Love is more than warm feeling. It’s an act of selflessness.

Today, the word disciple has become somewhat antiquated. A disciple is a student — a serious student, learning a specific field or trade.

A disciple of Christ is a student of Him and His ways.

To be a disciple of Christ, we practice spiritual disciplines. But here again, the word discipline means something different than what we typically think of. In this usage, discipline doesn’t mean punishment, it means practice.

The spiritual disciplines are spiritual practices.

Through the discipline of studying God’s Word, we learn more about Him as we fill our minds and hearts with His truth.

Through the discipline of prayer, we invite the Holy Spirit to move in our lives as God’s desires become our desires.

We can practice many spiritual disciplines — solitude, gratitude, simplicity, giving, serving — all of which lead us closer to the heart of God.

If these practices become a law, however, something we must check off our to-do list, then these practices can lead to legalism, which leads to death. Yet, if these practices become a time of purpose-filled joy, something we learn to love doing because it draws us closer to God, then these practices will lead to a life of love.

A life in Christ is exemplified by a life of love.

To be a disciple of Christ means that we bend low, just as Jesus once did, and we serve others with a heart filled with His love.