The apostle John referred to himself five times in the Gospel of John as the “disciple whom Jesus loved.” This reference was used in some of the critical moments in Jesus’ ministry, including the last supper, the crucifixion and the resurrection. John genuinely experienced God’s outrageous love in Jesus firsthand – A love that is intimate, sustained, and spiritual, a love that transforms the beloved in the essential areas of life.
When we experience this outrageous love, a deep, significant and profound transformation happens:
· God’s outrageous love heightens our spirituality. This results in sustained intimacy (John 13:21-15), maintained integrity (John 19:25-27) and contained incredulity (John 20:1-9)
o Sustained Intimacy – When Jesus said that the betrayal was about to take place (John 13:21-25), John’s intimacy with Jesus is clear. John 13:23 states, “23 There was reclining on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.” (NASB)
o John stood by the Lord Jesus. This is Integrity in action. At the crucifixion, John stood firm and loyal. John 19:26-27 states, “26 When Jesus then saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son!’ 27 Then He said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother!’ From that hour the disciple took her into his own household.” (NASB)
o Contained Incredulity means our unbelief / skepticism is contained and implies that we have faith and believe. John was one of the first to recognize Jesus and be enlightened post-resurrection. John 20:8: we see “8 So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed.” (NASB)
· God’s outrageous love strengthens our identity. It is extremely important to know whose we are. We were created by God to have an intimate relationship with Him. We are nothing apart from Him and God is the only one with a self-sufficient identity. Like John, the hope is for us to strengthen our identity, not because of anything we’ve done but because we are loved deeply and outrageously by our maker. We were made by God, for God.
· God’s outrageous love deepens our security. John 21:20-22 states, “20 Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one also who had leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, ‘Lord, who is the one who betrays You?’ 21 So Peter seeing him said to Jesus, ‘Lord, and what about this man?’ 22 Jesus said to him, ‘If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!’“ (NASB). We need to care for those behind us and have compassion for them, but at the same time avoid comparing and competing with those in front of us. Our security should come from what God wants us to do and, like John, we need to be joyful and secure solely because of Jesus’ Love. God’s love for us is enough.
There is such great wonder in the fact that Jesus would bestow His love on you and me. The world conditions us to think that things should be earned, including love. The reality is, there is nothing we can do to earn God’s love, which is the beginning of His amazing grace. Jesus’ finished work on the cross is sufficient proof of how much God loves us. There is nothing we can do to earn it. The question is – Are we ready to accept God’s outrageous, unconditional and everlasting love today?
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