A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
From the very beginning it seems that love has been what God has desired from mankind. To love God and to love your neighbor as yourself are the cornerstones of the Judeo-Christian ideology. Yet in this passage Jesus elevates what it means to love when he says to love each other in the way that he loves us. This is certainly a new commandment because this kind of love is a greater love than the love we have for ourselves.
For the Christian love means so much more than loving your neighbor as yourself because we will never love others more than our own lives. To love others in a Christlike manner means to love their lives more than our own. It is such a radical idea and one that few embrace. Yet this is the kind of love that Jesus says will cause the world to know that we are his disciples. It is a wildly radical message of a love that can change the world.
My love is insufficient. Teach me to love as you love Lord Jesus.
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I echo your prayer Bob. There is a big IF in that verse. It implies that we can have all our doctrine tied up, even see miracles and healing, but if we don't love then will people really see Jesus? Trouble is, it's sometimes not all that spectacular or attractive to really love one another, in fact it can be hard and messy.
ReplyDeleteThe truth of that verse hit me a couple of months back. The love I am to have for others is a love that is sacrificial, a love that is willing to give up my life. To be honest, that is a bit scary.
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