John 13:5 Then He poured water into the basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet.
 
Alright, so we are on a journey to understand and express true love. And we are looking into what Jesus did with the disciples in John thirteen, as a way to understand this special kind of love. This love comes from the Father in heaven and is expressed by Jesus as He washes the disciple’s feet.
 
I do not think this is new to you. I believe you already know what true love is. The problem, maybe even a crisis kind of problem that exists in our lives is that we rarely express true love to others.
 
Let me be specific. I am talking about the foundation of true love, which is affectionate care. This is the bottom layer in the building blocks of true love. There is a crisis inside of God’s family, we are not expressing affectionate care very much.
 
Did you know that there is a huge reason why God’s family cannot express affectionate care? Go ahead and take a guess as to why this might be?
 
Sin? Be more specific.
 
Don’t know the Bible? Kind of warm.
 
Ignorant? That and more.
 
The answer is anger and hurt. That’s right, anger and hurt are what stops you from affectionately caring for others. And by-the-way, it is not simply the anger and hurt that you receive from one person that stops you from affectionately caring for that one person.
 
When you hold onto hurts and they become infected and fester, it undoubtedly affects others that you want to care for as well.
 
Hebrews 12:15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.
 
Do you see that phrase, “many become defiled”? That means the fruit of unforgiveness spreads to infect others that you do not want it to. The whole process of growing in our abilities to affectionately care for others is stunted, it’s hindered, when we hold onto anger and hurt.
 
Ephesians 4:31-32 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
 
Kindness and tenderheartedness are key components of affectionate care.
 
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Alright, let’s go further. If we have come to the conclusion that affectionate care is the foundation of true love. That means that expressing genuine care for another with no strings attached is the first step toward true love. And we understand what hinders a Christian in expressing care is hurt and anger. What would be the next component?
 
Affectionate care is not true love. Affectionate care leads to true love. In our next devotional we will look at a natural byproduct of affectionate care. In other words, when affectionate care is allowed to happen inside of your relationships, there is a natural occurrence of something else that will become the next component necessary for true love to develop.
 
I’ll make a deal with you. If you will work on what stands in the way of affectionate care, I will reveal to you what is next. We can work together to move toward true love. I will say this, true love may not be what you think – but it is what we hope for.
 
Father, let there be nothing that stands in the way of affectionate care. God, we trust You, and desire to move toward true love. Teach us to look to You for life change. Let us not be afraid; but let us walk forward in caring and loving others well. Thank You Jesus for making true love available to us. You demonstrated true love for us. We feel it and walk in it this very day.
 
Blessings,
Pastor D