Scripture
“I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” - John 13:34-35
Thought
Jesus had a way of changing things up. To the Jews many of these statements seemed blasphemous. Under the Old Covenant the Jews had many commands and laws they were to keep. When Jesus came he changed the whole system. He gave us a new command. A command that is very simple yet is so hard to live out.
The night before His crucifixion he told His disciples a new command. That command? To love one another. But not to just love one another. Jesus wanted us to love each other the way He has loved us. The disciples at that time had now clue what was coming next. Just how far Jesus was about to go in order to love them and love us. But the disciples had already seen so much of His love in their own lives. Love that no one else would give to tax collectors. Love that no one else would give to ordinary men. Jesus loved people in a way that had never before been seen. Then he tells us to do the same.
He finishes up this new command by saying that people will know we are His disciples by the way we love one another. So often in today’s world this isn’t the case. Many Christians are seen as mean and hateful. This ought not be the case. Jesus wants us to love those who are different than us. Jesus wants us to love those who act differently than us. Jesus wants us to love those who think differently than us. Once we start to do this the church starts to look more like the early church. Like a magnet that people are just attracted to because of the love we have for one another, love that looks just like that of our Savior.
Action
We all have people in our life that we could be loving better. Loving the way that Jesus has loved us. Write down two people in your life that you know you need to start loving. Then write down a couple of ways you are going to do that in the next few days. Let’s not just say we need to love better let’s actually do it.