John 13:31-35 (NRSV)
Read John 13:31-35 on biblegateway.com
Verse 31When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. Verse 32If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Verse 33Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, 'Where I am going, you cannot come.' Verse 34I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. Verse 35By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
Devotion
When we love one another, we glorify Christ because his love is made visible through us, and when Christ's love is made visible through us, God is glorified. Isn't this remarkable? It is often the case—rightly or wrongly—that we assess the love of parents through their children's behavior. If a child shows respect for nature, we assume that his or her parents must have taken him or her on walks in the forest and told him or her the names of the birds. If a child develops compassion for the poor, we assume that his or her parents have talked to them about poverty and given him or her an opportunity to know those who are struggling. What's remarkable about such an assumption is that we tend to believe when we make such assessment that it has almost everything to do with the parent and little to do with the child.
Jesus calls his disciples little children. This strikes me as apt. God's love is so profound, so great, that it cannot be hidden away. God loves us so much that God will be glorified through us. Thanks be to God.
Prayer
O God, your love is so profound that we cannot hold or contain it. Make your love ever more visible in us. Amen.