We love him, because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19.  {CC 315.1}        John is distinguished above the other apostles as "the disciple whom Jesus loved" (John 21:20). . . . He received many tokens of the Saviour's confidence and love. He was one of the three permitted to witness Christ's glory upon the mount of transfiguration and His agony in Gethsemane, and it was to his care that our Lord confided His mother in those last hours of anguish upon the cross.  {CC 315.2}        John's was a nature that longed for love, for sympathy and companionship. He pressed close to Jesus, sat by His side, leaned upon His breast. As a flower the sun and dew, so did he drink in the divine light and life.  {CC 315.3}        The depth and fervor of John's affection for his Master was not the cause of Christ's love for him, but the effect of that love. John desired  ...