The following is YEF member’s reflection on John 13:31-38:

Before Jesus walked on the path of cross, He gave a new commandment to His disciples which is: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35

How people will know that we are true disciples of Jesus is through the love we show to one another. We live a life atoning for each other’s sins. There is no condemnation and we bear each other’s sins. This is the true love we should have for one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. It is easier to know and say this than to act. To love one another and not condemn each other, we must rely on God. We must know God’s love and learn from Jesus.

Unless we can each share our burdens with one another and help one another, that kind of relationship is very one-sided and weak. I come to realise that I have some friendships where it feels very one-sided and while it is nice to receive, but the other person is not relieved of their burdens. I am weak and still learning how to carry others’ burdens by God’s strength and love, not mine. By my own strength, I realise the most I can carry is my family’s burdens and mine. I can barely carry my friends’ burdens and I feel sorry yet also feel that this is all I can do without collapsing.

But in God, our vessels can be made bigger. We can love and bear each other’s sins because we have the love of God and not human love. Human love is flimsy and weak most of the time. But God’s love is unconditional and the true perfect love.

Jesus’ cross is a sacrifice that can only be accomplished by the true love He has for us, and the complete faith and trust He had in God. No one can ever walk the same way of Jesus nor even come close. Only Jesus was able to uphold the truth He preached in its entirety all the way till the end of His death. The disciples were very ignorant to Jesus’ words and indeed, we are them too. If we are clouded by our own actions and thoughts, how can we notice what Jesus is saying to us or catch on the wisdom and the truth He is speaking? The disciples missed out several times and the point of the cross. Peter relied only on human courage which is like an inverted pyramid where it looks strong but it is weak in reality.

By human courage, we cannot overcome a lot of things in our lives. My own human courage is limited and I realise that I am so scared of many things. The true courage I have comes from God. Knowing the certainty of His truth and having faith in God, gives me courage from Him that I do not have. I can face rejection and persecution, only because my courage comes from God and I hope I will not rely on my own courage.

This is how we can walk like Jesus – we must have complete trust and faith in God as we walk while loving God. We believe God will resurrect us after the cross and death. We also must examine the kind of faith we have before God. Is our faith a heroic kind where we sweep away all our emotions and be like all in without even understanding? This kind of faith where we rely on our own human courage like Peter who said that he will never leave Jesus. He really did not understand what saying that meant because it was from his own courage and it is shown that this faith cannot withstand till the end.

True faith is when we know and understand exactly what the situation calls for – how difficult it is – and yet we still choose to believe in God. We cannot mindlessly rush into things and just say I will do it. We must be careful that our faith is really secure and well-placed in God, because we believe God truly has the power to change and save. Most of the time, my faith is just by my own courage. I tell myself, since God said so, I will just do it and try. But true faith is confessing before God that my own strength cannot make it, but God’s strength can. And so I will trust God and His strength to bring me through, not my own.

This article is written by YEF member of her own thoughts and reflections. Please do not reproduce or share without permission.