“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
John 13:34-35
Who do you love? You probably love your family, your wife (if you’re married), your children (if you have any), and your friends. But what does “love” mean to you? Is it a deep, deliberative feeling you have for others based many different factors regarding how you know them? Do you show this feeling easily to others, or do you withhold it for only a select people?
We read in the Old Testament that we are to love our neighbors as we would love ourselves. We often read and teach this as treat others how we would treat ourselves. However, Jesus shares a new truth with us that completely transforms the way we love one another. His command instructs us to no longer base our love off of self-centered motives, but to base it in Him so we may become like Him. Being a true follower of Jesus and His teachings means our former perspective must be changed to one that loves others based off of His criteria, not our own.
This criterion is not one that determines how loyal a person can be, or how trustworthy they are, or whether they think and believe exactly how we do. Instead, it’s based on one singular truth: all people are created in the image of God, making them worthy to receive His forgiveness if they so choose.
This does not mean we don’t have boundaries, but that our attitude towards all people must be respectful and willing to lead them into the family of Christ, for His saving grace is open to all who want it. This kind of love is unstoppable. We know this because we fail at it all the time, and yet Jesus still loves us. When we fail, Jesus doesn’t rescind His grace and forgiveness. Instead, He comes to us in our darkest moments and offers it even more.
Jesus invites all of us to this transformational journey. He wants all of us to examine the way we love one another for He knows we will be made all the better because of it. Challenge yourself to make this promise every day, and watch His blessing come down on you and the ones you love.
Prayer
Father, I pray that the eyes of my heart are enlightened to love more like Jesus. Mold me into a disciple of Your Word. Speak and act through me in a way that brings others into Your fold, that finds the lost and returns them to Your family. Make the way I love others based in Your love for me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Extra Reading
“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT
