Day 5 w/ John 13

My thinking today is marked by one thought, and that is a weird one to me, in that it is a grammatical thought.  As I read verse 34 this morning I was struck by the fact that it is written in future tense.  Here it is in its entirety... "34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  These are some of the possible implications:

1.  Love is a choice to do something; not a feeling.

2.  That choice to love is not a once and done thing, but a choice we make moment by moment.

3.  As dusty disciples, if we have chosen to follow our Rabbi, this is a command, not a choice.  Thus in each and every moment we have a choice to obey the command to love or to disobey the command to love.

4.  Our standard of how we are to love is To love as Jesus loved.

5.  Our love is to be for other disciples, not just any one.  (This may be the toughest group to love, because we are closest to them, we know them, they know us)

6.  Our love for others is what will attract others to become disciples.  

7.  This is a call of a life time.  We will never be done loving others.  When we choose to be obedient to our Rabbi's command to love, we both accomplish the command and still have more to do.