ZPCBlog

About the author: Darin, his wife Gretchen, and their three kids, Luke, Kyla, and Teagan, have been in Zionsville and at ZPC since 2011. Darin and Gretchen host a Home Group and are currently in a small group that is going through John Mark Comer’s Practicing the Way course guide. Darin has served two terms as Elder at ZPC, and he has been part of ZPC’s Property Team for the last four years during the building expansion and renovation project. Darin and Kyla journeyed to Uganda with a wonderful small group of mostly ZPCers in July on a medical outreach and orphanage support mission trip.

I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
John 13:34-35 

Merry Christmas!

As Jesus is knowingly heading toward his betrayal and death as outlined in the 13^th and surrounding chapters of John’s gospel, he gave his disciples, include those of us doing our best to follow him today, a new but familiar commandment: Love one another. You are not going to find Jesus portrayed on “Horrible Bosses” either. He did not just tell us what to do. He showed us how.

On this Christmas, a day when many of us cling to traditions, let us not miss the first profound word within these precious verses from John 13: new.

Every year my family gathers on Christmas Eve for church, dinner, and family gifts, followed by Christmas morning stockings, Santa gifts, breakfast, a day together with games and movies, and – yep, more dinner. I deeply love my family, and I love, in a slightly separate way, these traditions and times together. These are a precious gift, but Jesus continues to offer something greater, and something new.

The Greek word for love here, and in many New Testament verses including the well-known John 3:16 “for God so loved the world” is agape. Our new but familiar, go-forward commandment, is “agape” one another.

I have known for some time that in contrast to our one-word-for-all-types-of-love in English, Greek in the New Testament uses four different words for varying types of love. What I just learned from a broader search is there are eight Greek words for love. Love certainly means many things, but agape is one-true-and-all-powerful-God-like love. Agape is divine love that is unconditional, selfless, sacrificial, and action oriented. John 13 tells us we can love like God!

Who bids their only son whom they “love and are well pleased with” to die so you and I can benefit? The one-true-and-all-powerful-God who “agapes” you. (Matthew 3:17)

What does God’s agape offer you? Salvation, healing, and transformation to Jesus-likeness. (1 John 3:2)

Salvation, for those of us in Christ, is complete and secure (Romans 8:39), yet it is also on-going as we transform, with God’s help, to become like Jesus. Our new gift is not only our salvation, healing, and transformation, but the privilege to agape others, with God’s help, in the same way we have been “agaped” by God.

Pastor and writer John Mark Comer summarizes this well, and yes – he wrote an excellent book about it, Be with Jesus, Become like Jesus, Do as he did. This is the path to the truly full or abundant life God offers (John 10:10).

This Christmas, may we find and be his gift of love, that is constant, yet always new!

Prayer

Father God,
Thank you for the sacrificial gift of your son, who you love and are well pleased with. May we receive both the immediate gift of his salvation, healing, and transformation, as well as the on-going gift of his salvation, healing, and transformation, like daily bread, throughout the coming new year. By receiving your greatest gift, your agape love through Jesus, may new agape love for others grow in and pour out through us. May we walk with you as your disciples, sacrificially loving others like you do. In this, may be find Christmas-miracle-like truly full and abundant life.

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