2020-10-19. John 13.
What are we to learn from the Book of John?
We know that Jesus continually referred to God as His Father, or His Heavenly Father. What do we mortals know of Fathers?
We know that Fathers are entrusted with their children’s care. Fathers nurture, teach, and keep keep safe their children, but most of all, they love their children with a fierce and abiding love.
Jesus said: “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9) I take from that that Jesus loves us as a heavenly parent would. We should look to him as a father figure. He came to give us but one commandment: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (John 13:34). He repeats this in John 15:12.
Several places he says love each other as you love yourselves, [1]but as I look around at a nation of people who are angry, depressed, addicted, litigious, and incarcerated, I see a people who don’t care all that much for themselves. They treat their neighbors with bigotry and nastiness, hatred and divisive behavior. What must they think of themselves? Surely this is not what Jesus meant when he told us to love our neighbors as ourselves.
This is why the two verses from (John 13:34 and 15:12) are so significant. The command to love one another as a heavenly parent loves us.
As much as we love our children, God loves them infinitely more. Wishes the best for them. For us. Wants to help lift our burdens, with limitless mercy and compassion. What if we looked at one another, loved one another as a heavenly parent? What if we actually put our feet in the shoes of God or Jesus and viewed our neighbor from the point of view of a compassionate, all-merciful father?
We would look at one another as our spiritual brothers and sisters, all members of the family of God. [2]
We would look at our erring siblings as young, immature, and inexperienced, the way we view our own children during their formative years. Surely God doesn’t expect us to get everything right in this short lifetime in the flesh. We have eternity, should we so choose.
It’s up to us to begin the spiritual revolution on this planet. And it’s a simple thing, really. Not necessarily easy, but simple. Love one another as He loves us. As a heavenly parent would love and want the best for all of his children.
This is our task: to seek to understand the motivations behind our brothers’ and sisters’ actions, and then to love them with all their faults, knowing that they will have all of eternity to work out their issues.
Look at those with whom you disagree as if they were scrappy children, fearful, defensive, boisterous, trying to find their way in the world, just like the rest of us. Suddenly, Compassion comes in, and right behind that is Empathy. You would want each of your brothers and sisters to enjoy the same equal status in this world as they are in God’s heart.
As God is our Father, we are all brothers and sisters. Living our lives with Equality, Compassion, and Empathy is the beginning of the Brotherhood of Man.
[1] (Matthew 19:19, Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:31, Luke 10:27, Romans 13:9, James 2:8,and Galatians 5:14),
[2] (John 15:17, Romans 12:10, Romans 13:8, 1 Thessalonians 4:9, 1 Peter 1:22, 1 John 3:11, 1 John 3:14, 1 John 3:23, 1 John 4:7, 1 John 4:11, 1 John 4:12, 2 John 1:5)
-contributed by Liz Craty
