Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them." – John 14:21

Today's Scripture Reading (December 29, 2020): John 14

I have a love/hate relationship with rules. On the one hand, they make life so simple. Rules tell us where to stand and remind us when we are coloring outside of the lines. We actually need rules. Well-adjusted children are often the ones who have grown up with a clear set of rules and expectations. There is no guesswork. When the child does something wrong, the excuse that says "I didn't know" is a lie. When they crossed the line, rules reminded them that they were moving from right into the familiar territory of wrong.

But rules are also so human. And sometimes, we make up rules hoping that they will take us someplace where we were never intended to go. Sometimes rules are good, but sometimes we give them too much control over our lives.

Jesus said that whoever knows my commands and keeps them is the one that loves me. It seems pretty straightforward. Jesus is telling us to keep his rules. If we do that, then we will be showing our love for him. And that makes sense. It is the same thing that we believe in our interpersonal relationships. If you love me, you won't place me in positions that make me uncomfortable, and you won't break my rules.

Our response to Jesus's command is to make up a list of rules and expectations that we believe indicate that we are honoring God's laws. When someone contravenes one of these rules, we feel it is evident that they don't love Jesus. As a result, we take action against them because if they really loved Jesus, they wouldn't have broken the rules. We exclude them, or shun them, we kick them out of our fellowships, disassociate them from our denominations. It is a logical response to the breaking of the rules.

But I wonder if we miss the point. After all, this is John on the other end of the pen, the disciple of love. This is John, who records Jesus's words as "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). We need to be reminded that Jesus told us to love each other. If we love God and each other with every part of our lives, in that act of love, we have fulfilled all of the rules that Jesus considered to be important (See Matthew 22:34-40).

If we take Jesus's words seriously, then it might not be possible to follow Jesus's commands and love him if we cannot love each other. As people contravene our rules and we respond to exclude, the one who we are excluding is Christ. It is a hard teaching, but I think that the result of this command is that Jesus is comfortable being part of a massive tent, with people who believe different things, as long as we love.

Jesus's words to us are simple. Love! Love me, love God, and love each other. Do this, and the Father will show you his love, just as I show you mine. And if you love, I will reveal myself to you."

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: John 15