Selfless Love

“Near the cross of Jesus stood His Mother, His Mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw His Mother there, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to her, ‘Woman, here is your son.’” John 19:25-26

The famous English writer, Samuel Johnson, once said, “When a man knows he is about to be hanged it concentrates his mind wonderfully.” If there were ever a time when you would expect anybody to think only of himself and nobody else it would be when he is about to die. Yet, even as Jesus was facing a grueling death, He was still thinking about others.

First, He asked God to forgive His persecutors who deserved to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of God’s Law. Then, Jesus turns all of His attention to the most special person in the crowd to Him that day – His Mother. No mother in history ever had a son like Mary did. Never has a son loved a mother like the Son of God did. Jesus, bearing the weight of the sins of the entire world on His shoulders, is about to become the first and only member of God’s family to walk through the valley of the shadow of death without even one angel to go with Him. He is about to enter unspeakable darkness, and yet He takes one last opportunity to ensure His Mother is taken care of before He leaves this earth. He first saw the face of His Mother in a manger; and her face will be the last one He sees at the cross. How could Jesus look into a teeming mob filled with jeers, cursing, and mocking and pick out His Mom?

His heart must have been breaking for the breaking heart of His beloved Mother. As His eyes find hers, Jesus speaks these words to Mary, “Woman, here is your son,” referring to John, one of His devoted disciples. What Jesus was communicating was, “Don’t worry about the future. I took care of you while I was alive. John is going to take care of you after I am gone.” Even though Jesus was dying as her Savior, He didn’t forget that while living, He was still her son. How amazing that just as Jesus is leaving to prepare an eternal, heavenly home for His Mother, He also provides an earthly home for her before He dies.

In His greatest agony, He still loved His family selflessly. We should take a great lesson from what Jesus did on the cross for His Mother. We must take every opportunity to love those who are dearest to us while we are with them. We must selflessly love with the time we have been given. Family is a gift we must never take for granted.

God, Thank You for my family. Please help me to love them selflessly and to never take them for granted. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.