John the ApostleBEING LOVED is the most powerful motivation in the world! Our ability to love is often shaped byour experience of love. We usually love others as we have been loved.Some of the greatest statements about God’s loving nature were written by a man who experiencedGod’s love in a unique way. Jesus’ disciple John expressed his relationship with the Son of God bycalling himself “the disciple Jesus loved” (John 21:20). Although Jesus’ love is clearly communicatedin all the Gospels, in John’s Gospel it is a central theme. Because his own experience of Jesus’ lovewas so strong and personal, John was sensitive to the words and actions of Jesus that illustratedhow the one who is love loved others.Jesus knew John fully and loved him fully. He gave John and his brother James the nickname “Sonsof Thunder” (Mark 3:17), perhaps from an occasion when the brothers asked Jesus for permissionto “call down fire from heaven” on a village that had refused to welcome Jesus and the disciples(Luke 9:54). In John’s Gospel and letters, we see the great God of love, while the thunder of God’sjustice bursts from the pages of Revelation.Jesus confronts each of us as he confronted John. We cannot know the depth of Jesus’ love unlesswe are willing to face the fact that he knows us completely. Otherwise we are fooled into believinghe must love the people we pretend to be, not the sinners we actually are. John and all the disciplesconvince us that God is able and willing to accept us as we are. Being aware of God’s love is a greatmotivator for change. His love is not given in exchange for our efforts; his love frees us to really livefor him. Have you accepted that love?JOHN (JESUS’ DISCIPLE)Strengths and accomplishmentsOne of John the Baptist’s disciples before following JesusWrote five New Testament books: the Gospel of John; 1, 2, and 3 John; and RevelationWeaknesses and mistakesAlong with James, shared a tendency to have outbursts of selfishness and angerAlong with James, asked for a special position in Jesus’ KingdomNotable factOne of the 12 disciples and, with Peter and James, one of the inner three who were closest to JesusJesus’ Biographers: A look at the writers of the four Gospels.The inside story of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
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