📖 "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you."
Matthew 5:44
Loving those who love us back asks little of the heart. It flows easily, like water poured into open hands. Yet the Gospel does not linger in what is easy. It steps quietly into the places that ache, where trust was broken, where words cut deep, where someone we loved chose another path.
Jesus knelt with a towel around His waist and washed Judas’ feet. He did so with full knowledge of what lay ahead. The silver had already been counted in Judas’ heart. The betrayal was already forming. Still, Jesus poured the water.
The Hebrew understanding of love, ahavah, is not rooted in feeling but in covenantal action. It is love that moves toward another, even when the cost is high. Jesus’ love was never reactive. It was resolute. It was anchored in who He was, not in how others behaved.
The water that flowed over Judas’ feet did not deny the coming pain. It declared something stronger than pain. Love that is born of God does not wait for safety, repentance, or reciprocity. It remains faithful because it flows from the Father’s heart.
This kind of love does not excuse betrayal. It does not erase boundaries. It does not call harm holy. It simply refuses to let bitterness have the final word. It allows Jesus to shape our response so that the wound does not become our teacher.
When we allow Christ to love through us, we are no longer ruled by what was done to us. We are guided by Who dwells within us. That is where the Gospel becomes flesh again, quietly, humbly, powerfully.
Reflection:
Where has loving like Jesus felt costly or even unfair to your heart 🤔
Who comes to mind when you think of the feet Jesus washed, knowing the pain that would follow 🤔
What might it look like to release the need for justice into God’s hands, without hardening your own heart 🤔
Life Application:
Ask the Lord to show you one small, grace-filled step of obedience, not towards reconciliation if it is unsafe, but towards freedom of heart. Sometimes love looks like prayer, surrender, and choosing not to carry what was never yours to bear.
Affirmation:
I am not defined by betrayal. I am shaped by Christ’s love, steady, free, and anchored in truth.
Creative Prompt:
Create a simple piece using water as your theme. It could be a sketch, a wash of watercolour, or a written reflection. Let the movement of water express release, cleansing, and trust in God’s justice.
Closing Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You loved with open hands even when You knew the cost. Teach me that kind of love. Heal the places in my heart that still ache from betrayal. Guard me from bitterness, and lead me in truth, wisdom, and grace. Let Your love flow through me in ways that bring freedom, not bondage.
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