We’ve almost finished correlating into an outline the information we collected about love as found in John 13-17. The final point to reflect on is the quality of love.
The “suma bona” in this study of love is seen in the love between God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus wants us to know experientially that kind of love and express it to God and others in tangible ways. This is to be the distinguishing mark of Christianity.
John 13:1 says that Jesus wanted to show His disciples the full extent of His love. He did this by washing their feet. Then in John 15:13 He declared, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” Putting this in sharp focus, He continues by saying, “You are my friends.”
You might think, it would take even greater love if you laid your life down for your enemies. What Jesus was saying to the disciples is that they at one time were His enemies. He is the One who chose them and declared them to be His friends. They were not that on their own. His love reached out to them while they were lost, chose them, shared His life and mission with them as friends and died for them. Thus He made it possible for them to be a part of God’s family and share in Christ’s inheritance.
That’s the quality of His love for us and it’s what He desires to produce and demonstrate through us. That’s what the world needs to see. It’s the kind of love that will attract and win them to the Savior.
