Love Has a Standard
“No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.” - John 15:13 (CSB)
Jesus does not suggest what love might be. He defines it. “No one has greater love than this…”
That means love has a ceiling. There is a highest expression. There is something Jesus calls the greatest love. And by implication, there are lesser loves.
That confronts us immediately.
Our culture treats love as elastic. If it feels strong, we call it love. If it feels affirming, we call it love. If it feels intense, we call it love. But Jesus anchors love outside of emotion.
He ties it to sacrifice.
Love is not primarily about what you feel. It is about what you are willing to surrender.
This unsettles us because it exposes how often our love is comfortable. We love when it fits our schedule. We love when it is reciprocated. We love when it feels rewarding. But once love begins to threaten our comfort, our time, our pride, we start negotiating.
Jesus removes the negotiation. The greatest love lays something down.
That means love is measurable. It costs something. It moves. It binds itself. It stays. It bleeds if it must.
If love never costs you, it may be preference. It may be compatibility. It may be chemistry. But Jesus says it is not the greatest love.
And here is where the cross begins pressing on us.
Because Jesus is not defining love in theory. He is standing in the shadow of His own crucifixion. He knows betrayal is in motion. He knows abandonment is coming. He knows the cross is hours away. And in that moment, He says, “When you see what I am about to do, do not misunderstand it. That is love.”
The cross becomes the authority that defines love.
And before you ask what that means for others, ask what it means for you.
If the cross defines love, then your life cannot be defined by self-preservation.
Reflection Question
Where has your understanding of love been shaped more by comfort than by the cross?
If love costs nothing, it reveals nothing.
Prayer
Father, I confess how easily I redefine love around my comfort. Teach me to let the cross set the standard. Guard me from shallow definitions that feel good but cost little. Shape my understanding of love by what Christ has done, not by what culture celebrates. Amen.
Jesus does not suggest what love might be. He defines it. “No one has greater love than this…”
That means love has a ceiling. There is a highest expression. There is something Jesus calls the greatest love. And by implication, there are lesser loves.
That confronts us immediately.
Our culture treats love as elastic. If it feels strong, we call it love. If it feels affirming, we call it love. If it feels intense, we call it love. But Jesus anchors love outside of emotion.
He ties it to sacrifice.
Love is not primarily about what you feel. It is about what you are willing to surrender.
This unsettles us because it exposes how often our love is comfortable. We love when it fits our schedule. We love when it is reciprocated. We love when it feels rewarding. But once love begins to threaten our comfort, our time, our pride, we start negotiating.
Jesus removes the negotiation. The greatest love lays something down.
That means love is measurable. It costs something. It moves. It binds itself. It stays. It bleeds if it must.
If love never costs you, it may be preference. It may be compatibility. It may be chemistry. But Jesus says it is not the greatest love.
And here is where the cross begins pressing on us.
Because Jesus is not defining love in theory. He is standing in the shadow of His own crucifixion. He knows betrayal is in motion. He knows abandonment is coming. He knows the cross is hours away. And in that moment, He says, “When you see what I am about to do, do not misunderstand it. That is love.”
The cross becomes the authority that defines love.
- Not your feelings.
- Not your comfort.
- Not your instincts.
And before you ask what that means for others, ask what it means for you.
If the cross defines love, then your life cannot be defined by self-preservation.
Reflection Question
Where has your understanding of love been shaped more by comfort than by the cross?
If love costs nothing, it reveals nothing.
Prayer
Father, I confess how easily I redefine love around my comfort. Teach me to let the cross set the standard. Guard me from shallow definitions that feel good but cost little. Shape my understanding of love by what Christ has done, not by what culture celebrates. Amen.
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