Without thinking too hard, what part of 1 John 2:7-8 stuck out to you the most and why?
“I suppose the contradiction he sets up: it’s not new, it’s old, but it’s new, too. It leaves me puzzling, ‘Say what?!?’”
What is the “new” command Jesus gave his disciples in John 13:34?
“‘Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.’”
Look back at two Old Testament passages to better understand the “old” love commands. Paraphrase the core message of each.
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength.”
Leviticus 19:18 “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge, but love your neighbor as yourself.”
Now revisit John 13:34. What new element does Jesus add to the old command to love one another? “As “I” have loved you, so “you” are to love one another.”
I have at times tried to tame this verse (John 13:34). Don’t tame it; let it push you beyond what you may think is reasonable.
Think of one permanent relationship in your life and briefly write about how this new command – loving as Jesus loved – specifically affects the way you’re to love that person. Where does it push beyond what feels natural?
“I need to be far more selfless and self-sacrificing. I need to put aside my own wants far more often and get work done. Today I should load the dishwasher and make a real dinner.”
Turn to John’s gospel and read 3:16-21. According to this passage, who is the light that has come into this world? “Jesus”
Reread 1 John 2:8. What is ‘realized’ in both Jesus and us? “The new law”
[Starred for emphasis] Now that Jesus has entered the world (Light into darkness), we can love our neighbors as ourselves more fully than we ever imagined! Why? Because the old commandment to love has now been revitalized and energized, because of Christ (the new law)
Summarizing this information from verse 8, explain why the old commandment is now new
“Jesus has revitalized it with His pure light.”
In John 13:14-15, what did Jesus tell His disciples?
He was their example; now they should do as He did.
Describe how Jesus made the old command to love one another new in this instance. There’s no ‘right’ answer, just your thoughts about how Jesus lived this command in a fresh way, and asks us to do the same.
“It’s a lot easier to talk about love – to give lip service to how much we love people around us – than it is to do an unpleasant, menial, serving task for them.”
List all the benefits that accompany love and the snares that accompany hate under the corresponding heading:
LOVE – “lives in the light”
– “has nothing in him/her to make him/her stumble”
HATE – still in darkness
– “walks around in the darkness”
– “does not know where he/she is going”
– “is blinded by the darkness”
The road to hate can look like the enjoyment of gossip about someone you know, a thread of bitterness toward a family member, jealousy toward your coworker
Confess any areas the Lord shows you and write them below (always keeping in mind 1 John 1:9)
“Lord, please help me love [her] more and not cringe and want to escape when she wants to chat.”
The Christian life is not only about the brake pedal, it’s about the accelerator, too!
[Starred for emphasis] ‘What I am sharing with you is both old and new. It is old in that it is the word of the Bible and has been truth for a long time. It is new because the old truth has met me in the context of my personal journey, and is changing my life.’
Dearest Rachel –
Considering that, apart from our weekly Thursday evening trips to my folks’ place, Daniel and I rarely ever enjoy a home-cooked meal, the fact that you saw that as the thing (and the relationship, for that matter) that you needed to do in order to be more loving in your life rather strikes a nerve. For what it’s worth, we get along fine without them, and if you were to simply show up, that would be more than sufficient without bothering to cook.
To be honest, I had expected you to say you needed to continue to extend that much more grace to one of the many friends who often needed more than I would have ever been capable of in the (and indeed, you do mention someone who I think I recall you characterizing as being unable to hold a conversation without complaining, if I recall which individual by the name you offer up correctly. Of course, we knew several people by that name, most of whom don’t fit that description, so I obscured the name in this case). That’s the thing about human life; there’s always room for improvement.
I wonder, now that you’ve reached the perfection of heaven, whether you look back on your life here on earth, and what you think of the efforts you made. It’s a moot point, I suppose, but it’s the past you have, after all.
Anyway, keep an eye on me, to encourage me in my own poor efforts, and wish me luck. I’m going to need it.
Letters to Rachel 