All You Need Is...

All you need is… What do you think of when you hear that? All you need is a little more time. All you need is that next big break. Maybe all you need is a little peace and quiet. Though, if I had to hazard a guess, you probably began to sing the chorus of the Beatles song All You Need is Love. If you didn’t, you probably are now. It’s been nearly sixty years since that song was released, but the message of it still rings true in our modern age. Sure a lot has changed in the world. Things seem to move a bit faster. We seem more busy these days. But what the Beatles sang is a message that has been carried across generations. In fact, it’s what the disciples of Jesus Christ are known for.

Before he went to the cross, Jesus gathered his twelve disciples together for a meal. At that meal, Jesus washed their feet and set before them a new way of life. When He finished, Jesus said to those gathered, a new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another (John 13:34-35 NIV).

But this call to love wasn’t some feeling shared between people. Jesus didn’t call the disciples to have a feeling of love for others. In context and language, Jesus uses love as a verb. It’s an action to be made. It should be visible to the world around us. The disciples of Jesus will be known by their actions they take. To the point that, right before He ascended into heaven, Jesus said that His disciples, through the power of the Holy Spirit inside of them, will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8b ESV).
 
Those who follow the way of Jesus. Those who believe that He is the Messiah who came to save us. Those who have confessed Him Lord over their life, have been endowed with the Holy Spirit inside of them. And it’s through that power that the love of Jesus shines through our lives. To spread joy and love to the world. To be His witnesses by our very actions. Perhaps the Beatles were right after all that Love is all you need (The Beatles, Love is All You Need).