 Gospel
John 15:9-17
As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you;
abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you
will abide in my love, just as I have kept my
Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have
said these things to you so that my joy may be in
you, and that your joy may be complete.
“This is my commandment, that you love one another
as I have loved you. No one has greater love than
this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You
are my friends if you do what I command you. I do
not call you servants any longer, because the
servant does not know what the master is doing; but
I have called you friends, because I have made known
to you everything that I have heard from my Father.
You did not choose me but I chose you. And I
appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will
last, so that the Father will give you whatever you
ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands
so that you may love one another.”
John Masefield, in his poem "Sea Fever," strives to
capture the romanticism of being out on the open
waters... "And all I ask is a tall ship and a star
to steer her by." We know why that star is so
important! In the midst of constant change in the
world of navigation, and in the reality of a life
that must be navigated... we need a fixed point or a
stable frame of reference to accurately assess where
we are and where we need to go.
When you're traveling through the
flat lands of Central Illinois back in the 18th
century, and everything looks alike after awhile,
and you eventually see a pretty good sized hill in
Logan County known as Elkhart Hill, you're going to
be pretty thankful about that... you have confirmed
where you are and have a better idea about where
you're going!
I'm glad we have a good reliable and accurate
measuring tape at home. Zane keeps thinking that he
is as tall as I am, maybe even taller. He keeps
standing next to me, and according to him, He has
caught up to daddy! That measuring tape is a
standard of measurement that is not changing any
time soon and it clearly is telling Zane where he is
and how far he still has to go to catch up to me!
He's an inch or two off!
Our Lord Jesus, understanding that the cross was
coming rapidly toward him... understanding that His
time with the disciples was coming to a close in the
conventional sense, gave them a new commandment,
which in truth is the fullest expression of one of
the greatest commandments... a true and glorious
fixed point of light that will always show us the
way... "Love as I have loved you."
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Moses told us to love our neighbor as
ourselves. This commandment of course is beautiful,
but there is a subjective component here... Love
your neighbor as yourself. That works great if you
know how to properly love yourself! How do you
follow this commandment if you have never had
longsuffering, committed, nurturing, selfless love
modeled for you or extended to you?
Of course, life is much more
complicated than simple binary answers... things are
not black and white... there are no perfect parents.
I think mom and dad modeled genuine godly love
pretty well... but I would be in a fairytale land to
think that they were perfect examples for me and my
younger brother in every word, action, or decision.
The best nurturing adults are but a blurry or dark
picture when compared to the bright and shining
masterpiece of the love of Christ!
Look to the love of Jesus and let His love be your
eternal star, guiding you, never misleading you,
never moving or changing on you. You want to know
what love is? You want to know how to express love
or live a life of love? Don't go to the teenager who
is infatuated with his new girlfriend and being
controlled by his hormones! Don't go to the Arlee
Theater and take in a romantic comedy! Don't go to
the Facebook Posts of neighbors and acquaintances
who only put out what they want you to see about
their family... the highlights... not the reality of
their day to day lives!
Let us look to the love of Jesus so that we know how
to truly love our neighbor. Let us look to the one
who sacrificed himself for men and women created in
the image of God, some of whom celebrated as they
sent him to his death. Let us look to the one who
saw and valued and communed with and healed and
taught those that others dismissed. The tax
collector, the adulterer, the child, the Samaritan,
the blind, the leper... Jesus truly saw the Imago
Dei within each one... He saw the beauty within each
one... he also saw the brokenness in each one too...
but his arms were outstretched for all. Let us look
to the one who trusted His Heavenly Father in
Gethsemane, submitting to the pain of the cross
willingly for humanity despite his doubts and fears.
Look no further than the Son of God!
In doing so we will remain in Him
Ryan Edgecombe
Broadwell Christian Church
Central Presbyterian Church - Petersburg
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