John 15:9-17 (NIV)

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.

Reflection

Did you ever play the “telephone” game, where the first person quietly whispers a message to the next person and the message gets passed down the line until it reaches the last person? Whether it’s an inability to hear, wrong pronunciation or memory lapse, the message usually gets so jumbled that the final message is a far cry from the original. It’s a good thing that God does not play “telephone” with us. Instead, the love that He has for His Son Jesus Christ is the very same love that the Son has for us. And that same love is the love we have for one another. Yes, sometime we jumble things, don’t listen each other, or even forget to love. But no matter, God’s love is God’s love. Its essence always remains the same – sacrificial, complete, life-giving and fruitful. For this reason, Jesus commands us to “remain in my love.” This is how we will love others as He has loved us - stay intimately close to His love and listen carefully to His word. Then we will know His heart and bear fruit that will last.

Response

Let’s reaffirm our calling to love one another, just as Christ has loved us. Let’s remain in His love, cling tight to His presence and treasure His passion for us. Let His enduring love compel us to love those in our missional groups and campus ministries.

Here’s a take on the recent Republican convention in Tampa from the cartoonist for The Economist and UMBC Artist-in-Residence, Kal.

“I never thought it was a good idea for attorneys to be president,” he stated. “Maybe it’s time for a businessman.” Occasionally he would tell the president, an empty chair beside him on stage, that no, he would not shut up.

Eastwood commented on the unemployment rate, calling it a “national disgrace.” In his conclusion, in reference to Obama, he said “when someone doesn’t do the job, we gotta let ‘em go.”

Mr. Eastwood’s speech seemed to entertain the audience quite a bit, warming them up to hear Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, finishing with a rousing chorus of “make my day.”
So, do you think Clint made Mitt’s day?

<object id=”flashObj” width=”595″ height=”390″ classid=”clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000″ codebase=”http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0″><param name=”movie” value=”http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1″ /><param name=”bgcolor” value=”#FFFFFF” /><param name=”flashVars” value=”videoId=1818488991001&linkBaseURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.economist.com%2Fblogs%2Fdemocracyinamerica%2F2012%2F09%2Fkal-conventions%3Fbclid%3D0%26bctid%3D1818488991001&playerID=1425961410001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAABDH-R__E~,dB4S9tmhdOo20g03jDsDgNBGDcclfHEU&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true” /><param name=”base” value=”http://admin.brightcove.com” /><param name=”seamlesstabbing” value=”false” /><param name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true” /><param name=”swLiveConnect” value=”true” /><param name=”allowScriptAccess” value=”always” /><embed src=”http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1″ bgcolor=”#FFFFFF” flashVars=”videoId=1818488991001&linkBaseURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.economist.com%2Fblogs%2Fdemocracyinamerica%2F2012%2F09%2Fkal-conventions%3Fbclid%3D0%26bctid%3D1818488991001&playerID=1425961410001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAABDH-R__E~,dB4S9tmhdOo20g03jDsDgNBGDcclfHEU&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true” base=”http://admin.brightcove.com” name=”flashObj” width=”595″ height=”390″ seamlesstabbing=”false” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” allowFullScreen=”true” swLiveConnect=”true” allowScriptAccess=”always” pluginspage=”http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash”></embed></object&gt;

Here’s a take on the recent Republican convention in Tampa from the cartoonist for The Economist and UMBC Artist-in-Residence, Kal.