Friend
"Love has to let the beloved choose. Judas had made his choice. Jesus had to let Judas walk away because he wasn’t ready to embrace the kingdom life. He’d never been ready. The lover gives the beloved a chance to say yes before stepping over the threshold. For three years Judas had said no."
I think this part of the life of Jesus holds one of the most important lessons one can learn and that is what real love looks like:
Real love doesn’t have to be reciprocated to be powerful.
Real love provides opportunity and time for the feelings of love to take root.
Real love is given with total disregard of what the other person might do with it.
Real love doesn’t always have a happy ending.
We like our stories all tied up nice at the end with a big, pretty bow. I know I, too, have tried to figure out how maybe Judas was spared from hell for what he did to Jesus because I simply cannot stand to think that Judas could have spent all that time in the presence of Christ and still done what he did to Him. I want the happy ending but not even the love of Jesus can counter what this one man did with it.
But that’s not where the happy ending lies in this story. The happy ending lies in the resurrection of our Lord and Savior – not in the betrayal of someone Jesus once called "friend." Real love doesn’t always have a happy ending – at least not where you’d most expect to see it – but real love does have a profound effect on people. Even Judas realized what he had done once he stood in the shadow of that love. Even he, the ruthless and greedy man that he was, couldn’t hold out forever. Real love changes us – even the hardest of men can’t escape its depth and endless boundaries. Jesus loved Judas enough to let him go and, in the end, it was the undoing of Judas.
"Judas betrayed you for thirty pieces of silver. Forgive me for all the times I’ve done it for free.
Thank God that real love knows forgiveness and compassion or I suspect we’d all meet with a fate the likes of which even Judas could not have imagined.
I think this part of the life of Jesus holds one of the most important lessons one can learn and that is what real love looks like:
Real love doesn’t have to be reciprocated to be powerful.
Real love provides opportunity and time for the feelings of love to take root.
Real love is given with total disregard of what the other person might do with it.
Real love doesn’t always have a happy ending.
We like our stories all tied up nice at the end with a big, pretty bow. I know I, too, have tried to figure out how maybe Judas was spared from hell for what he did to Jesus because I simply cannot stand to think that Judas could have spent all that time in the presence of Christ and still done what he did to Him. I want the happy ending but not even the love of Jesus can counter what this one man did with it.
But that’s not where the happy ending lies in this story. The happy ending lies in the resurrection of our Lord and Savior – not in the betrayal of someone Jesus once called "friend." Real love doesn’t always have a happy ending – at least not where you’d most expect to see it – but real love does have a profound effect on people. Even Judas realized what he had done once he stood in the shadow of that love. Even he, the ruthless and greedy man that he was, couldn’t hold out forever. Real love changes us – even the hardest of men can’t escape its depth and endless boundaries. Jesus loved Judas enough to let him go and, in the end, it was the undoing of Judas.
"Judas betrayed you for thirty pieces of silver. Forgive me for all the times I’ve done it for free.
Thank God that real love knows forgiveness and compassion or I suspect we’d all meet with a fate the likes of which even Judas could not have imagined.
posted by HeyJules at
7:49 AM
3 Comments:
I think "real love" is a big misconception to the world - that it gives out false pretenses and meanings - that it always ends nicely and "love conquers all" and all that.... when really love hurts alot of times, it means sacrifice - a word not given out much by the world.... I think this is reason for alot of hurt people and divorce - people do not know what love really is, so they base relationships off those feel good feelings and it doesnt last....
hmmmm - not sure where all that came from, off on a tangent... he he... good post, Jules
By
dangermama, at 3:13 PM
You tangent all you want, Addie. I was thinking the same thing when I wrote this - how everyone thinks love is all googly eyes and touchy feely. That's not love - that's hormones. :-)
By
HeyJules, at 4:16 PM
So true! Real love is not a feeling, it's a commitment! So when you get mad at your spouse you are not going to walk out and not come back. Why? Because you are committed, regardless what you may be feeling.
By
Pilot Mom, at 5:52 PM
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