February 18, 2016
Scripture Reading: 2 John 5-6; John 15:9-12
5And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. 6And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
Questions for Reflection:
Verse 5 starts with the clause, “And now.” Other translations phrase it, “and now I ask you” or “and now I urge you.” John, the author, is wanting to grab the attention as he moves into the very core of his message to the church. What is that core message that he is sharing?
This is the last of six references that John makes over the course of his letters to the church instructing them to love one another. Why does John seem to be a broken record on the subject of love? How does John define love? How does this alter from what our culture often defines love as?
Love is not a mere emotional state, but carries within it something deeper. Stephen Smalley in his book on John’s epistles writes, “Love can be ‘commanded’ inasfar as it is not simply an emotion, but the obedient response of a believer which belongs to the sphere of selfless action.” John defines love as obedience to the commands of Christ. The command that Jesus repeated throughout, and to which John grabbed hold of, was to love each other in the same manner as Jesus Christ loved us. In what ways have you chosen to love others more than yourself lately? In what ways have you sacrificed your desires in order to serve others in your family, your workplace, your group or team?