GLCC Children's Network

At our Friday night cell meetings, our 10-12 year-old group has been going through the Gospel of John, as part of a challenge I gave them several months ago. Last week, we talked about Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. This week, started looking at some of His last teachings before His death on the Cross.

Chapters 13-16 in John narrate Jesus' last words of teaching to his disciples. There is an almost hurried tone to these words. It's as if the Lord is giving a last-minute pep talk. I'm reminded of a scene from the movie Any Given Sunday. Coach D'Amato is walking down the tunnel onto the field with his young, inexperienced quarterback, Willie Beaman. D'Amato just keeps firing advice and instructions at Willie, who just keeps replying "Yeah." For the disciples, like Willie, it was a lot of information to absorb in very little time.

One of the first things that Jesus told the disciples was that He was giving them a new commandment. This must have been confusing to them. First, He reduces the Ten Commandments down to two. Now, He's giving them a new one. And like the other two (Love God above all, love your neighbor as yourself), His new commandment is born of love: "...as I have loved you, that you also love one another." (John 13:34, NKJV)

This opened the discussion on what "love" really means in the New Testament, especially when Jesus is speaking of it. John's Greek translation of Jesus' instructions uses the word agapeo ( αγαπη ) for "love." This is one of two words used in the NT for "love," the other being phileo. ( φιλεϖ )

Without getting too technical, there is a very important difference. Phileo is used to reference an emotional, heart-centered love. Phileo love is an easy love, an immediate love. Not that there cannot be intensity to it, but it is love that does not generally have a cost to it.

Agapeo, or agape love is much different. Beyond a simple feeling of the heart, agapeo requires an act of the will. It is a love of the mind, a sacrificial love, a love that requires risk. This is a love that places the one loved above self.

This is the kind of love that Jesus calls us all to. Not an easy, painless, "like" kind of love; He desires us to love one another with a risky, sometimes painful, willful love. It's easy to love someone when they are nice to you. But loving someone who just smacked you in the face - that's agapeo.

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Reminder!!! Due to the Fourth of July Weekend, there will be no cell group on July 3rd!!