{"id":71939,"date":"2024-12-27T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-27T05:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/?p=71939"},"modified":"2024-12-21T10:15:04","modified_gmt":"2024-12-21T15:15:04","slug":"love-displayed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/love-displayed\/","title":{"rendered":"Love Displayed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Scripture Reading: John 3:16, 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, 1 John 4:9-10, John 13:1-17, John 15:9-17, 1 John 3:1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

John 3:16 is one of the first verses we use to memorize the gospel in a few words. God loved the world. God gave His Son. We believe and have eternal life. But under the surface, there\u2019s so much more than a simple evangelistic message. Tucked into this translation are three words that gave this well-worn verse a new shade of meaning for me: \u201cFor God loved the world in this way<\/em>…\u201d A version of these words show up again in one of John\u2019s future letters: \u201cGod\u2019s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him\u201d (1John 4:9).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn this way.\u201d Not just about what God did<\/em> to love the world, but how<\/em>. Tradition says both books were penned by John, a close disciple and beloved friend of Jesus. It makes sense that someone who so deeply loved and walked with Jesus would see God\u2019s love not as an idea to agree with but as an active way of life. God loved this world through giving His Son\u2014giving Himself\u2014for a vibrant, eternal, flourishing life that His people can live out now. Following Jesus is an invitation to do just that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gospels are filled with stories of Jesus actively demonstrating love. He saw people for who they were, He slowed down, He asked questions, and He defended the disregarded and overlooked. His final teachings to His disciples were some of His most direct. At the Last Supper, He knelt on the floor to wash His friends\u2019 feet, despite their protests and embarrassment. What they didn\u2019t realize at first is that this wasn\u2019t an act of humiliation but of invitation. \u201c\u2026if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another\u2019s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done for you (John 13:14\u201315).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is love: to not consider yourself too good to serve others and to give what you have for the life of the world. It is patience and kindness, not self-seeking, always enduring and never ending (1Corinthians 13:4\u20138). Days before dying by crucifixion, Jesus taught His disciples that \u201cNo one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.\u201d (John 15:13) We might hear that verse and think of literally dying for another. But what if laying down our lives looks a little more mundane, something closer to kneeling on a dirty floor to wash someone\u2019s feet?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the days ahead, let\u2019s not move too quickly past the generosity and love we shared on Christmas. It could begin with reaching out to someone who had a lonely Christmas or taking a moment to really see the exhausted employee bagging your groceries at the store. Where might God invite you to offer your time, your energy, your resources, or your prayers for the life of the world around you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Written by Jen Yokel<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Scripture Reading: John 3:16, 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, 1 John 4:9-10, John 13:1-17, John 15:9-17, 1 John 3:1 John 3:16 is one of the first verses we use to memorize the gospel in a few words. God loved the world. God gave His Son. We believe and have eternal life. But under the surface, there\u2019s so […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":71563,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[292],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advent2024"],"acf":{"hero_background_image":false,"related_plans":[71574],"weekly_truth":false,"grace_day":false,"share_text":"She Reads Truth","devotional_text":"LOVE DISPLAYED<\/b>

\r\nby Jen Yokel<\/i>

\r\n

John 3:16 is one of the first verses we use to memorize the gospel in a few words. God loved the world. God gave His Son. We believe and have eternal life. But under the surface, there\u2019s so much more than a simple evangelistic message. Tucked into this translation are three words that gave this well-worn verse a new shade of meaning for me: \u201cFor God loved the world in this way<\/em>...\u201d A version of these words show up again in one of John\u2019s future letters: \u201cGod\u2019s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him\u201d (1John 4:9).<\/p>
\r\n

\u201cIn this way.\u201d Not just about what God did<\/em> to love the world<\/em>, but how. Tradition says both books were penned by John, a close disciple and beloved friend of Jesus. It makes sense that someone who so deeply loved and walked with Jesus would see God\u2019s love not as an idea to agree with but as an active way of life. God loved this world through giving His Son\u2014giving Himself\u2014for a vibrant, eternal, flourishing life that His people can live out now. Following Jesus is an invitation to do just that.<\/p>
\r\n

The gospels are filled with stories of Jesus actively demonstrating love. He saw people for who they were, He slowed down, He asked questions, and He defended the disregarded and overlooked. His final teachings to His disciples were some of His most direct. At the Last Supper, He knelt on the floor to wash His friends\u2019 feet, despite their protests and embarrassment. What they didn\u2019t realize at first is that this wasn\u2019t an act of humiliation but of invitation. \u201c\u2026if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another\u2019s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done for you (John 13:14\u201315).<\/p>
\r\n

This is love: to not consider yourself too good to serve others and to give what you have for the life of the world. It is patience and kindness, not self-seeking, always enduring and never ending (1Corinthians 13:4\u20138). Days before dying by crucifixion, Jesus taught His disciples that \u201cNo one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.\u201d (John 15:13) We might hear that verse and think of literally dying for another. But what if laying down our lives looks a little more mundane, something closer to kneeling on a dirty floor to wash someone\u2019s feet?<\/p>
\r\n

In the days ahead, let\u2019s not move too quickly past the generosity and love we shared on Christmas. It could begin with reaching out to someone who had a lonely Christmas or taking a moment to really see the exhausted employee bagging your groceries at the store. Where might God invite you to offer your time, your energy, your resources, or your prayers for the life of the world around you?<\/p>","share_image_height":"640","day_number":"27","scripture":"John 3:16, 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, 1 John 4:9-10, John 13:1-17, John 15:9-17, 1 John 3:1","available":true,"ad_banner_name":"","ad_banner_image":false,"ad_banner_url":"","songs":"","key_verse":"","key_verse_reference":"","background_image":false,"background_color":"#FBF7F3","scripture_references":false,"share_image":false,"author_name":"","author_bio":"","guest_social_media":false,"show_ad":true,"ad_override":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/70"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71939"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71939\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}