Wednesday 17 Oct 2018

October 17: John 13:31-35

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

Devotion:
This was the time when Jesus introduced the disciples to what some will call the eleventh commandment; one that should have been implicit in following the previous ten, but one which we need to be reminded of because of our fractious ways. We get upset by the smallest things and those moments then bring us to feelings of anger against others – even over the smallest of things! Jesus told us He was about to give His life for our sins. No other act in history has or ever will be remembered and glorified as much as this – that a perfect man give his life as a thief and a murderer just so we may be forgiven our sins which we do each day against God...

We cannot follow Him into heaven now, or indeed as soon as we accept Him as our Saviour; that time has to wait until we either die or until He decides to take us home with Him. We are assured of a place in heaven because of what He has done for us; we are assured a place by His side as long as we know Him and He knows us. We must realise we do not get a place just because we are here on earth, but because we got to know Him whilst we were here on earth!

But one of the biggest things that keeps us from knowing Him is our own feelings. We harbour feelings of lust, anger, jealousy and so much more. These feelings keep us from concentrating on Him and on glorifying Him. We are the ones who need to put those feelings aside and concentrate on our feelings towards Him. Just as we should concentrate on our feelings in a relationship with another person, we need to do so with Christ. When we do that, we will find the love He has for us and with it will come understanding about how to pass it on to others rather than our own frivolous and vain feelings. With those new feelings in our lives, we will be able to keep this commandment; that we should love one another in the same way as He has loved us. If we cannot do this, we have to question our own sincerity with God...

Points to Ponder:
How often do you argue over little things?

How often do you argue with or question God?