I Just Blew It

John 13:34,35 I give you a new command: Love each other. You must love each other just as I loved you. All people will know that you are my followers if you love each other.

None of us ever likes to admit that we’re wrong … and yet sometimes we are. And sometimes our “wrong” ends up hurting other people. And right in that place, we have some tough decisions to make

If you’ve ever brought up teenagers, you’ll know that it involves rather a lot of patience and more than a bit of conflict from time to time. Back when my daughter was a teenager, I managed to get in on the wrong end of something and I over-reacted and bit her head off.

And you know how it is – deep down you hate to admit that you got it wrong, especially when you’re the one in authority, and so the easiest thing to do is just to let it slide. Forget about it. Move on.

But the longer you leave things that way, the more likely it is that that relationship will end up bankrupt. So I swallowed my pride, cuddled her, apologised and asked her to forgive me.

Maybe it’s just me, but I find that stuff not so easy to do. But Jesus said:

John 13:34,35 I give you a new command: Love each other. You must love each other just as I loved you. All people will know that you are my followers if you love each other.

And if we say we love someone, then we can’t leave that relationship, that person, damaged through something we’ve done that’s wrong.

If we say we love someone, then we have to set things right.

Love is a verb. It’s a doing word. And nothing speaks more powerfully of who Jesus is than when we show His love in tough situations … no matter how difficult that may seem, or how much it may cost us.

You must love each other just as I loved you.

That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.

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