Love & Commitment
“A woman, a rock and a beloved walk into a tomb…,” is not the beginning of a joke. This is what happened early one Sunday morning, the very morning that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Mary Magdalene, Peter and the disciple Jesus loved got up early to visit the tomb, the last place they knew Jesus’s body had been. See John 20:1-2.
From these three persons, we can gauge how far our love, commitment, and devotion to the Master will take us, as well as learn where we need to be to go the distance for Christ’s sake.
Love – “The disciple whom Jesus loved”
You will find many theological discussions on who exactly this disciple was. Suffice it to say John said it was him, “This disciple is the one who testifies to these events and has recorded them here.” John 21:24. What is more pertinent to this discussion is John’s actions after he had been alerted that the stone at the tomb was rolled away. He ran. He ran fast enough that he was ahead of the three that were headed towards the tomb; and he got there first.
“He stopped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in.” John 20:5
John, who accounts through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that he was the beloved disciple, looked into the tomb where they had kept Jesus’ body, saw that Jesus was no longer there, and didn’t go in. He didn’t inquire further. The disciple whom Jesus loved specifically waited at the entrance. He waited until Peter arrived, waited for Peter to go inside the tomb first, to inspect it thoroughly. Then, John went in.
Commitment – Peter
Peter didn’t run as fast. While Jesus definitely loved him, he wasn’t self-described as the disciple whom Jesus loved. He was simply the one who had received the revelation. He was the one commissioned to be the rock. He was the one who had felt the agonizing pain that comes with falling short of the expectations of someone held in highest esteem. He was the one who had denied Christ. He was the one who had a life-long reminder of that denial every time he heard crowing. And he was the one who had been forgiven. Now he is the one who loves more because he was forgiven more.
The Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrapping lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrapping. Then the disciple who had reached the tom first also went in, and he saw and believed. John 20:6-8
John and Peter both show us two stages of the Christian walk. The origin of our relationship is God’ love for us. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son.. John 3:16. Our acknowledgment of God’s love for us is foundational to our faith. If we don’t know or believe that God loves us, we cannot accept His love and we certainly cannot walk in His love. It is important to see the imprint of God’s love in everything He does for us, in everything He allows to touch us.
Still, however, it matters less who God loves. It matters more who loves God back. And that loves grows out of a sense of responsibility, that we need to serve God because He’s done so much for us. That is what takes us farther than simply knowing that we are loved by God. Perhaps it was sufficient for John that the tomb was empty, perhaps it was faith, but Peter had to know. Peter needed to really know everything there was to know about what was inside that now-empty tomb. Perhaps Peter really needed Jesus to be alive so he, Peter, could atone his denial of Jesus. Who knows what drove Peter into that tomb, but into that tomb he went. It was more than being loved. It was responsibility, commitment.
God loves us. We must settle that knowing in our minds; and let that knowing permeate every area of our lives. The transformational power of God’s love begins with being convinced of and accepting the love of God. But we cannot stop there. We must move on to loving God back; and showing that love in how we love others and how we serve God.
And while Love and Commitment are good, what about Devotion?
To be continued…
By Bolaji Akisanya