“Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” – John 13:1
What a radiantly beautiful expression of Christ’s love for His people! Betrayal, arrest, humiliation, suffering, death, and resurrection were all looming over Him that night. But Jesus loved His people to the end. He loved His followers, even the one who would betray Him, to the end. That is how Jesus still loves His people. If you’ve embraced Jesus as your Lord, this is how He loves you today! Jesus loves you to the end.
The love of Jesus never ends and never fails. It is faithful and steadfast through suffering, through death, and through all of eternity. The way that Jesus loves you is an expression of His divine grace. You didn’t earn that love and you don’t deserve it, but He loves you abundantly anyway! His love for you isn’t transactional in the flawed ways that we’re used to in this fallen world. He loves you because He is love. He proved His loved by His death on the cross for you, and nothing can break the power of that love.
Out of His great love for you, He calls you to a life of love. He calls you to love Him and obey His commands. Integral to those commands is the call for you to love others as He does. Because Jesus loves you sacrificially and perpetually, you’re able to love others sacrificially and steadfastly. Love, because Jesus has and will love you forever and ever!