Intended Love

“Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness.  Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble.  But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him” 1 John 2:9- 11.

I’m very fortunate in the fact that I have never experienced the betrayal of a friend.  I have known and counseled people who have been betrayed by friends.  I believe it is one of the most difficult situations in regards to forgiveness.  Our friends walk with us through our failures and successes…our sadness and our joy…our mundane and our challenges.  I know for myself I’ve been in a dinner club for 18 years with some amazing women, and I can’t imagine being betrayed by them.  They are my little group…my little advocates…my little circle.

There was a man who had given His all to His closest friends.  He had shown them things that no one else had seen, and had shared intimate moments with each man.  They had been through so much and the time was nearing where goodbyes would have to be said.  As they sat at their final dinner gathering Jesus knew that one of them would betray Him in such a way that it would cost Him His life.   As He began washing the feet of the disciples He approached His betrayer and knelt before Judas.  He faced a decision in that moment that much bigger than His own emotions.  He chose to live out the command of His Father, ‘Live in the light…love your brother…take his feet and wash them…serve out of my love, not your emotions.’  We fail to give Jesus credit in this situation, because we feel that He was.  Being perfect didn't mean He didn't feel the sting...being perfect didn't mean His heart wasn't broken over the betrayal.  He felt everything we feel...His hurt...His anger...His disbelief.  He might have even been tempted to reveal who the betrayer was going to be, but He didn't.  He knelt and took the foot of Judas into His hand and began washing.  Did Judas even make eye contact?  If so, did He see the sadness in Jesus' eyes? 

We are called to live like Jesus and to love like Jesus…relentless love…radical love…unselfish love.  We cannot claim to love but have actions that show hate.  ‘The road to hate can look like the enjoyment of gossip about someone you know, a thread of bitterness toward a family member, jealously toward your coworker…John is not only calling us to the absence of hate, but to a life overflowing with love for the people around us…So let us love!’ Kelly Minter, What Love Is, p. 53.

Most likely we all have someone in our circle like Judas who at some point will require some washing on our part.  May we all understand that by failing to reach out, we pass up the opportunity to love like Jesus.  Lord, help us love the way you intended us to love.