Throughout John's Gospel, there are statements about Jesus and "the" Word, but mostly in the first person, possessive. "MY Word... MY commandments..." are most often what Jesus refers to in this Gospel.
Jesus, the Logos made Flesh from before the beginning, the fulfiller of Law and Prophets, the Redeemer, Savior and Judge of all the living and the dead, is our authority on God's Will and the final Word/Logos on God's Word. All of scripture should be understood through the lens of what Jesus taught, commanded and modeled for us in the Gospels. Here, Jesus owns the Word and His authority as the one who the children of God are to listen to, because Jesus reveals the Will of the Father.
If we who claim to love Jesus really do live agape with Jesus as we are commanded, then we will live what Jesus commanded and what Jesus taught. Agape itself is a command, with all of one's heart, soul, mind and strength for God and for neighbor as self, even to the point of living agape as Jesus gave us example for the living of it.
Agape is not a feeling like Phileos or Eros. Like Philanthropia, it is about doing/living. Those loves are all lived best out of a foundation of Agape, which is committed action on behalf of the other, even stranger and enemy, and certainly the most vulnerable, according to Jesus. Agape is not about getting anything back. It is selfless, even self-sacrificial. It is not just about the recipient and especially not about their "worthiness" to receive this love, but about the giver and the giver's intentions for doing so. It is not just about the giver or liver of this and their need to give it in faithful love, however but about the need of the recipient to receive this active commitment. Agape is a COMMANDED way of life for those who would follow Jesus and live Jesus' Way. Agape IS Jesus' Way for us to live in the world around us.
When everyone gives this love, everyone receives it equally and there is shalom (completeness, wholeness and well-being for individuals and for community). That is God's Will. The whole world is to live in shalom. Without the living of Agape, that is impossible.
The Greed, lust for Power and self-centeredness of this world are antithetical to agape. We cannot live those values AND live within God's Will. Those things tear down community, cause divisions and destroy individual lives. Agape unifies, builds up and transforms lives for individuals and communities. That is what we are commanded to live and do by Jesus.
Jesus owns it. The Word, the Commandments of God and God's Will in the present and until the end of the age. To be a follower of Jesus, we must go where Jesus went and live what Jesus taught, commanded and modeled for us in how to live in this part of God's Kingdom here and now. That is agape, and living that means salvation.
Pastor Jamie
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