Maundy Thursday
“When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
John 13:31b-35
In 1989, our company transferred us to Australia. Our son was 16 at the time and we knew, with the change of hemisphere, his schooling would change dramatically. Therefore, we made the decision to put him into boarding school in the United Kingdom for two years before going to an English University. Rod and I had to say to him, “Where I am going, you cannot come.” It was the most difficult decision we had to make. It was going to divide our family.
Sarah was only 13, so she came to Australia, finished her schooling there and was at university there when we received another transfer, this time to the United States, and we had to say to her, “Where I am going, you cannot come.” She was 19. I reflect on those years and how painful it was at the time that we had spread around the world, and it still is. Yet, I had to trust that we had all been equipped for the physical separation. The decisions were hard and painful to make, but we made them in love for one another and we had confidence they were the right ones. However, I also reflect how much closer we became as a family, which continues to this day. We had to work to stay together. Rarely a day goes by we do not all connect with news, or a joke or picture on WhatsApp.
In a similar way, Jesus prepared His disciples for the future and the separation that was coming through the cross. He knew how the events of tomorrow would unfold and we could not go with Him. Yet, because of His love for us, He suffered on the cross—to break the barrier of the curse of sin and our separation from God. He had confidence we would be okay, for He knew our separation from Him in His death would be the road to resurrection—and eternal life with Him—for all. The temporary separation would reap the eternal benefit of life with God. And as we await that day, we love one another as He has loved us.
