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Someone to Trust By Monica Brands
Read: John 13:33–35
Many proclaim themselves loyal, but who can find one worthy of trust? Proverbs 20:6 nrsv
“I just can’t trust anyone,” my friend said through tears. “Every time I do, they hurt me.” Her story angered me—an ex-boyfriend, whom she really thought she could trust, had started spreading rumors about her as soon as they broke up. Struggling to trust again after a pain-filled childhood, this betrayal seemed just one more confirmation that people could not be trusted.
I struggled to find words that would comfort. One thing I could not say was that she was wrong about how hard it is to find someone to fully trust, that most people are completely kind and trustworthy. Her story was painfully familiar, reminding me of moments of unexpected betrayal in my own life. In fact, Scripture is very candid about human nature. In Proverbs 20:6, the author voices the same lament as my friend, forever memorializing the pain of betrayal.
What I could say is that the cruelty of others is only part of the story. Although wounds from others are real and painful, Jesus has made genuine love possible. In John 13:35, Jesus told His disciples that the world would know they were His followers because of their love. Although some people may still hurt us, because of Jesus there will also always be those who, freely sharing His love, will unconditionally support and care for us. Resting in His unfailing love, may we find healing, community, and courage to love others as He did.
INSIGHT:
Love is one of the most prominent themes in the apostle John’s writing. In John’s gospel, Jesus spoke often about love: God’s love for the world (3:16), the love of the Father for the Son (3:35; 5:20; 10:17), Jesus’s love for His disciples (13:34–35), how the disciples were to show they love Jesus and each other (14:23–28), and even what love looks like (15:13). In his later letters (see 1, 2, and 3 John), John continues to focus on God’s love, mentioning God’s love for us or our love for Him and others more than thirty times.
Perhaps the most famous of all Jesus’s statements about love is found in John 15:13: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Jesus said this in the same context of asking His disciples to love one another as He had loved them (13:34) and mere hours before He demonstrated this great love by going to the cross to die for them. Sacrificing ourselves for another is the greatest expression of love. Who needs to see Jesus’s love through you today?
Welcome to Monica Brands! Meet all our authors at odb.org/all-authors.
Jesus has made true love possible.
Read: John 13:33–35
Many proclaim themselves loyal, but who can find one worthy of trust? Proverbs 20:6 nrsv
“I just can’t trust anyone,” my friend said through tears. “Every time I do, they hurt me.” Her story angered me—an ex-boyfriend, whom she really thought she could trust, had started spreading rumors about her as soon as they broke up. Struggling to trust again after a pain-filled childhood, this betrayal seemed just one more confirmation that people could not be trusted.
I struggled to find words that would comfort. One thing I could not say was that she was wrong about how hard it is to find someone to fully trust, that most people are completely kind and trustworthy. Her story was painfully familiar, reminding me of moments of unexpected betrayal in my own life. In fact, Scripture is very candid about human nature. In Proverbs 20:6, the author voices the same lament as my friend, forever memorializing the pain of betrayal.
What I could say is that the cruelty of others is only part of the story. Although wounds from others are real and painful, Jesus has made genuine love possible. In John 13:35, Jesus told His disciples that the world would know they were His followers because of their love. Although some people may still hurt us, because of Jesus there will also always be those who, freely sharing His love, will unconditionally support and care for us. Resting in His unfailing love, may we find healing, community, and courage to love others as He did.
INSIGHT:
Love is one of the most prominent themes in the apostle John’s writing. In John’s gospel, Jesus spoke often about love: God’s love for the world (3:16), the love of the Father for the Son (3:35; 5:20; 10:17), Jesus’s love for His disciples (13:34–35), how the disciples were to show they love Jesus and each other (14:23–28), and even what love looks like (15:13). In his later letters (see 1, 2, and 3 John), John continues to focus on God’s love, mentioning God’s love for us or our love for Him and others more than thirty times.
Perhaps the most famous of all Jesus’s statements about love is found in John 15:13: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Jesus said this in the same context of asking His disciples to love one another as He had loved them (13:34) and mere hours before He demonstrated this great love by going to the cross to die for them. Sacrificing ourselves for another is the greatest expression of love. Who needs to see Jesus’s love through you today?
Welcome to Monica Brands! Meet all our authors at odb.org/all-authors.
Jesus has made true love possible.