When [Judas] had gone out, Jesus said, "... Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek Me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, 'Where I am going you cannot come.' A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:31a, 33-35)

You can feel the time pressure on Jesus, can't you? Judas slips out the door to betray Jesus, and within hours Jesus will be laying down His life on the cross to save us all. And He knows it.

So what does He use the time for? He tells us to love. This is how non-Christians will recognize that we belong to Jesus, He says—because we love each other with all our hearts, even to the point of laying down our lives for one another.

If you're like me, your mind immediately goes to all your failures to love! But Jesus isn't trying to burden us. No, He is describing what it is like to live in Him—to be so close to Him that our lives naturally reflect Him, and He lives through us each day.

And what does that look like? Probably not hanging on a cross. But we may well find ourselves babysitting at the last minute—fixing somebody's computer or phone—pulling weeds, cooking dinner, or offering a listening ear. These are the things Jesus does—and today, He does them through us.

WE PRAY: Lord, show me what it looks like when You live through me. Amen.

Reflection Questions:

* Is love a feeling or an action?

* Why do you say so?

* What single act of love could you do today because Jesus is loving someone through you?

Lenten Devotions were written by Dr. Kari Vo.

Today's Bible Readings: Numbers 1-2    Mark 12:1-27

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