Words of Life: An Enduring Legacyනියැදිය

Legacy of love: new kind of love.

I loved reading the book Guess How Much I Love You to my young children. It’s a story of two rabbits trying to outdo each other in expressing their love. In today's passage, Jesus similarly reveals the extent of his love to the disciples. In framing this episode, John uses the Greek word telos – which means not just ‘to the end of time’, but also ‘the ultimate goal and purpose’ of his love. In other words, what follows is Jesus showing them the full extent of his love.

So what does Jesus do? To demonstrate the extent of his love, he washes their feet. This causes a stir. It is unthinkable that their leader would stoop to the role of the lowest servant, wiping away the grime and filth from their feet. Jesus acknowledges their confusion, telling Peter, ‘What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterwards you will understand’ (John 13:7 ESV ). He is pointing to the Cross, where the depth of his love will become fully clear. Jesus’ love is not just about washing feet; it is so great that it will give its life for them. It is radical. It is countercultural. It’s a love like no other.

We’ve reflected on the legacy we leave by deepening our relationship with Jesus. We’ve explored a legacy of light – a revelation of Jesus to the world; and a legacy of life – a participation in God’s abundant mission. In these next few days, we turn to the legacy of love. At its core, this is about motivation. Jesus is driven by love, for his disciples and for the whole world. As John writes elsewhere, ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son’ (John 3:16 NIV).

Pray that the love of Christ would motivate us.