John 14
I remember sitting down to write about John 13,
and being struck by the concept of love.
I've been thinking about love since then
and as I move through John 14
love is being impressed upon me.
I noticed that this entire passage
from the end of John 13 through John 15
that the entire text is colored red.
John 15 is ENTIRELY red.
solid red.
Jesus is doing some talking here.
And in Jesus' last private moments
with his dearest friends
what did he speak about the most?
His "Father" is mentioned 33 times,
and "love" is mentioned 24 times.
at the moment, I'm hung on love.
and life
I've been thinking about life, too.
What is life and love?
life is easier.
If a seed falls to the ground
and brings forth a new life,
it must be a kind of instruction manual
for assembling common elements
into structures that support life.
Is it the structure that is alive?
or something alive in the structure?
regardless of our beliefs,
we can still wonder at the complexity of life
and its ability to make new seeds,
to perpetuate itself.
Every living cell contains the instruction manual
for creating another living cell
and almost always
(except in the case of single-celled organisms)
a method for organizing huge numbers of cells
into something greater
a self-sustaining self-repairing organism
with instincts and reflexes
and senses.
and intelligence.
that concept alone is worth a lifetime of study,
in my opinion.
and its not just one successful life-form
that has managed to accomplish such a wondrous feat.
no!
The planet is filled to the brim
with millions of individual species!
all managing in their own way.
trillions of individual organisms,
passing life
from
one generation
to
the
next.
but that's just
life.
Life is easy, compared to the next part...
What I'm trying to wrap my mind around,
is the extra spark in a special group of those organisms
that woke up to something more;
a group that gained a higher awareness.
Anyone born into it
finds the ability not only to learn,
but to accumulate knowledge and teach;
not only prepares for the future,
but can plan actions to influence it;
not only able to think
but to reason
and create
and love
What kind of a super-organism is that?
Something separates us from everything else
and we are surely responsible for that gift.
Do the others have to consider
compassion vs. power?
mercy vs. justice?
charity vs. self-preservation?
wisdom vs. foolishness?
love vs. apathy?
After you've eaten
from the tree
that provides the knowledge
of good and evil
you determine in which you are residing
at any particular moment
Joh 13:34
I am giving you a new commandment
to love one another.
Just as I have loved you,
you also should love one another.
Joh 13:35
This is how everyone will know
that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another."
love
or not.
either way, you've chosen.
(I'm not so good at it, myself.)
peace be with you.
Joh 14:4
You know where I am going,
and you know the way."
and being struck by the concept of love.
I've been thinking about love since then
and as I move through John 14
love is being impressed upon me.
I noticed that this entire passage
from the end of John 13 through John 15
that the entire text is colored red.
John 15 is ENTIRELY red.
solid red.
Jesus is doing some talking here.
And in Jesus' last private moments
with his dearest friends
what did he speak about the most?
His "Father" is mentioned 33 times,
and "love" is mentioned 24 times.
at the moment, I'm hung on love.
and life
I've been thinking about life, too.
What is life and love?
life is easier.
If a seed falls to the ground
and brings forth a new life,
it must be a kind of instruction manual
for assembling common elements
into structures that support life.
Is it the structure that is alive?
or something alive in the structure?
regardless of our beliefs,
we can still wonder at the complexity of life
and its ability to make new seeds,
to perpetuate itself.
Every living cell contains the instruction manual
for creating another living cell
and almost always
(except in the case of single-celled organisms)
a method for organizing huge numbers of cells
into something greater
a self-sustaining self-repairing organism
with instincts and reflexes
and senses.
and intelligence.
that concept alone is worth a lifetime of study,
in my opinion.
and its not just one successful life-form
that has managed to accomplish such a wondrous feat.
no!
The planet is filled to the brim
with millions of individual species!
all managing in their own way.
trillions of individual organisms,
passing life
from
one generation
to
the
next.
but that's just
life.
Life is easy, compared to the next part...
What I'm trying to wrap my mind around,
is the extra spark in a special group of those organisms
that woke up to something more;
a group that gained a higher awareness.
Anyone born into it
finds the ability not only to learn,
but to accumulate knowledge and teach;
not only prepares for the future,
but can plan actions to influence it;
not only able to think
but to reason
and create
and love
What kind of a super-organism is that?
Something separates us from everything else
and we are surely responsible for that gift.
Do the others have to consider
compassion vs. power?
mercy vs. justice?
charity vs. self-preservation?
wisdom vs. foolishness?
love vs. apathy?
After you've eaten
from the tree
that provides the knowledge
of good and evil
you determine in which you are residing
at any particular moment
Joh 13:34
I am giving you a new commandment
to love one another.
Just as I have loved you,
you also should love one another.
Joh 13:35
This is how everyone will know
that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another."
love
or not.
either way, you've chosen.
(I'm not so good at it, myself.)
peace be with you.
Joh 14:4
You know where I am going,
and you know the way."