When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
– John 19:26-27 (NIV)

This passage from the Gospel of John speaks volumes about Jesus’ message to us. The way he lived AND the way he died are all the illustration we need for living a life of “agape” love. Agape love – what exactly is that, anyway?

“Agape” is a Greek term that describes the highest form of love; a selfless love concerned with the well-being of others. Agape love is exactly what we see Jesus doing from the cross as he tends to his mother’s care after his impending death. He is not thinking of himself, the physical pain he is feeling, or the spiritual abandonment that must have been surrounding his heart. All he is thinking about in that moment is his mother, and ensuring that she will be well. He does so by looking at his beloved disciple and saying: My mother is now your mother – care for her as I would.

In Jesus’ emptying of himself on that cross, he is giving his love to the world to overcome all sorrow, shame, sin, and death. And, in the midst of his own agonizing and torturous death, Jesus makes sure his mother is taken care of. That is agape love.