Listen

“I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other.”

John 13:34-35

Think

When Jesus calls his disciples to a new commandment, he has just washed their feet. In ancient Israel, roads were hot and dusty. Everyone wore sandals to easily take off their shoes, so they would not bring dirt and sand into their homes. Sandals on these dirty roads also meant very dirty feet, so they would often have a servant wash a guest’s feet when they entered the home.

Jesus washes the disciples’ feet. Then, he calls the disciples to do the same for others. Humility and compassion, care and concern: these were ways to show love in Jesus’ new commandment. Loving one another is a call to humble ourselves and serve others.

Jesus loved his disciples and he gave us the greatest example of how to love. Not through flashy, extravagant, showy love, but through caring for one another’s basic needs.

Whitney Edwards-Russell

Question to Ponder:

What is a way you can help meet even a small need for someone close to you?

Pray

God, you have given me the greatest example of how to love through Jesus. Help me to share love just as Jesus did through care and compassion for my friends and family. Amen.

Go

Jesus loves me still today,

walking with me on my way,

wanting as a friend to give

light and love to all who live.

Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me.

Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so.

– Anna B. Warner, “Jesus Loves Me”