Radically Love

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another:

just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

 By this all people will know that you are my disciples,

 if you have love for one another.”

John 13:34-35

These are the words Jesus left with His disciples as He prepared them for His impending death.  He commanded them to do something radical… to love in the same way that He loves.  Take a minute to let that sink in. Think about how Jesus loves.  He served his friends by washing their feet.  He loved the outcasts (drunkards, prostitutes, tax collectors) when no one else did.  He is loyal, He is patient with us, He forgives quickly, and He is a selfless giver. He cares for us, pursues us, and protects us. He laid down his life for you, and for me.

We have been commanded to love others in the same way Christ loves us.  Jesus doesn’t just love half way, He loves radically, and commands us to do the same. 

This truth pierced my heart a few days ago as I opened up the book “Love Does” by Bob Goff.  It is a book of stories from Bob’s life with the theme of loving others in an extreme and intentional way.  Bob loves others simply because Christ loves him.  Only a few pages in and I felt a strong conviction in my spirit.  If Jesus has commanded me to love others in the SAME way that He loves us, then my life should look a lot different than it does.  Loving others isn’t just something you stumble into when it feels convenient, or when you’re in a good mood. No, love is accomplished by seeing others through the eyes of Christ and treating them in the same way Christ would have if He were in our shoes today.  

I believe Bob Goff summarizes perfectly what it means to be radical with our love when he says this: “I’ve never read in Genesis that God created “typical” and called it good. Instead, I think men who were bored made up typical and called it, if not good, at least acceptable. People who follow Jesus, though, are no longer typical- God is consistently inviting them into a life that moves away from typical. Even if they have normal jobs, live in normal houses, and drive normal cars, they’re not just the same anymore.” 

Once we have revelation in our heart of Christ’s love for us we become equipped to love others in the same way.  In Mike Bickle’s book “Seven Longings of the Human Heart” he says, “It takes God to love God, and it takes our receipt of God’s supernatural power to give us the capacity to love Him.” I believe this also applies to loving others.  As humans, our love runs out quickly and selfishly, but only with Jesus’s love are we able to love people the way that we were made to.  

What does radical love look like in your life? In my life it could be praying over others when I would rather just pray about my own needs, sharing the great news of the gospel with a coworker, paying for a friend’s dinner just because, loving the people in my life that are not easy to love, or even buying a pair of shoes for the homeless man on the street.  

Let us be intentional with our love. Loving others as Christ so graciously loves us. Let’s love outside the box. THIS is how we will make Jesus’s name famous throughout the world.