Demonstrated. Present. Essential.

My grandfather recently passed away. To say that he was a spiritual giant and tremendous influence in the lives of his family is an understatement. He was that and so much more. Personally speaking, he shaped my spiritual journey in a way that influences how I encounter God.

Because of his impact on our lives, my family spent a few days processing his death each in our own way. One morning, a few days after his passing, one of my daughters came to me with a note she had written to him. In her best kindergarten spelling, she wrote: “Derr Ganddadday, I love you so much. You look in my eiss and you are the best. Love, Lillian.” Translation: “Dear Granddaddy, I love you so much. You look in my eyes, and you are the best. Love, Lillian.”

In her youthful way of articulating it, she had managed to profoundly capture the essence of who my grandfather was and what made him significant to each and every one of us – his intentional love. Every interaction that we had with him was marked with purpose and presence. Every conversation was filled with care and investment. He was special to us, because we were so evidently special to him. His life was modeled after what it meant to be like Christ.

As a result I began to reflect on what it truly means to live out a Christ-filled life where investment is more than just an aspiration, where presence is the norm and not the exception, and where every action is so intentional that there is no doubt that the love of God is ever-present. A life where love is demonstrated, present, and essential.

Consider the story of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet in John 13. In this story Jesus willingly assumes the role of lowly servant in order to illustrate what it means to truly love one another.

After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord – and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.” (John 13:12–15)

In this exchange, we witness a demonstration of love that speaks to the humility and self-sacrificing nature of who Jesus is at his very core despite the fact that his actions are not understood or even well received – as in the case of Simon Peter – in that specific moment. However, what is completely evident through this interplay is the expectation of what it means to live out the message of Christ through the example he gives.

This modeling of love found in chapter 13 does not stop with the simple act of washing feet. Further down in the chapter as Jesus begins his farewell, he refers to his disciples as “little children” (John 13:33). This is an expression of affection used by Jewish rabbis for their students. In this instance, it communicates a presence of love that underlines the significance of the relationship at hand between Jesus and the disciples. A relationship that has experienced devotion and will experience rejection but remains firmly rooted in a presence of love.

As chapter 13 continues, Jesus says, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another” (John 13:34). This command to love one another is nothing new. It appears throughout both the Old Testament and the New Testament. However, in this passage there is an essential quality to his statement as Jesus prepares to leave them that magnifies the intentional love that Jesus has modeled throughout his life. Through his actions (washing their feet), his words (“little children”), and his command (“love one another”), we can see without question who we are called to be.

We see the intentional love of Jesus – demonstrated, present, and essential. And we see what it truly means to live like Christ.

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Image attribution: JESUS MAFA. Jesus washes his disciples feet, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=48299 [retrieved January 16, 2020]. Original source: http://www.librairie-emmanuel.fr (contact page: https://www.librairie-emmanuel.fr/contact).