Jesus commanded his disciples to follow him by loving like Jesus had loved them.
To include the excluded.
To forgive the unforgiven.
To share the message of hope with those who think they are hopeless.
To rejoice that God who had created them in God’s image is the same God who creates all people in God’s image.
To love the people who they were comfortable in accepting as well as the people who stretch our understating of acceptance to new levels of God’s love.
To measure the fruit of discipleship by the ways God’s kingdom is realized on earth as it is in heaven.
Jesus commanded his disciples to love like Jesus loved.
To live in the love that only God’s holy love makes possible.
A holy love that trusts in God’s redemption of life.
A holy love that Jesus trusted.
A holy love that Jesus invited his disciples to trust as they followed Jesus.
A holy love that invites us to trust in God’s love for life as we live lives of faith in Jesus.
Rev. Max Lucado describes how Jesus loved with these words:
“He humbled himself. He went from commanding angels to sleeping in the straw. From holding stars to clutching Mary’s finger. The palm that held the universe took the nail of a soldier. Why? Because that’s what love does. It puts the beloved before itself.
“Your soul was more important than his blood. Your eternal life was more important than his earthly life. Your place in heaven was more important to him than his place in heaven, so he gave up his so you could have yours. He loves you that much, and because he loves you, you are of prime importance to him.”
St. Francis of Assissi described loving like Jesus with this prayer:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
Thomas Trezise writes that the grocery aisle seems to be a place where he finds the kingdom of God most easily as he seeks to love like Jesus loved..
“As I entered the checkout line I saw that the young woman bagging the groceries had an almost rigid mask for her face. That was when I could see her face at all, for most of the time she looked down and did not make eye contact. I was moved by her as she seemed unhappy. So I said a silent prayer that Christ would in some way use me to bring joy into her life.
“My time to checkout eventually came. When I had paid and was ready to leave, I simply asked her how her day was going, but she did not respond. The cashier in a somewhat harsh, move-along voice, said she was deaf and could not understand me. Mindful that I had recently been taught by the Holy Spirit to communicate to people with words they will understand, I stopped and waved my hand before her so she would look up. When she did, I mouthed “Thank You” in the hope that she could read my lips and gave her a ‘thumbs-up.’
“As soon as the young woman saw my thumb, she broke into a wide grin and exploded with sign language signs. I have a good friend who is fluent in sign language and teaches it also. I wish she would have been with me, but in the most important sense I did not need her. There was no doubt that the young woman was joyful at being affirmed as a person. God had answered my prayer and used me.
“I left the store a little lighter in my step, knowing that I had just experienced life in Christ’s Kingdom. Something I say often, indeed it is the purpose of The Everyday Kingdom, is that each of us can experience the Kingdom in our everyday lives. When you give over to Christ not only the big events in your life, but also the small, sometimes very small, moments, the Holy Spirit may still touch you in a big way. You may not only get the message, but also be the message.”
May God bless you as you love like Jesus.
Loving Like Jesus
by Pastor Marc Brown
May 5, 2024
Accompanying Scriptures: John 15:9-17
Fort Hill United Methodist Church
Order of Worship for May 5, 2024
Scripture Lesson John 15:9-17
The Good News “Loving Like Jesus”
Music “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” Hymn #400
Prayer
Blessing
Closing Music “Praise to the Living God” by Lani Smith
View more Fort Hill United Methodist Church online services.
