“I give you a new commandment—to love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. Everyone will know by this that you are my disciples—if you have love for one another.” —John 13:34–35
Just as Jesus was the embodiment of God’s love, we are to be the embodiment of His love. He now gives this charge to all of His followers … we must love one another!
Loving others is both a great duty and a high calling as it helps to strengthen those around us by encouraging and refreshing them along the way. It is a Christian grace that is not to be merely in our heads, but a practice in our lives. We must live out God’s love in our tempers and our words, in our being and in our doing. It must show in our behavior and conduct toward all, and in particular fellow believers, regarding them as brothers and sisters. There is nothing that the world needs more than the demonstration of pure Biblical love. People may not understand theology or doctrine but they can experience Christian love. True love will capture their attention and often their hearts. True love always points to Jesus. It is quite different from the emotional love that the world values. We will also discover that as we love and encourage others we will be strengthened as well.
Love is a fundamental and everlasting command of Christ. It is to be the badge of all our Lord’s disciples. It is His desire for us to be noticed for our love as a distinguishing trait of His family. Just as our earthly families have familial traits, love is to be our spiritual familial trait. This goes against the grain of the world, which touts an “every man for himself” mentality. This is not to be the way of the Christian! Scripture is filled with the call for love amongst Christian brothers and sisters. John writes in one of his letters that our love for one another is a sign that we are truly children of the King:
“We know that we have crossed over from death to life because we love our fellow Christians. The one who does not love remains in death.” —1 John 3:14
“In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, if God so loved us, then we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God resides in us, and his love is perfected in us.” —1 John 4:10–12
What exactly does the love of Christ look like? Paul gives us a clear description in 1 Corinthians. It is only through the Holy Spirit’s power equipping and enabling us that we are able to consistently live this out this kind of love. Biblical love does not come to us naturally. This is why when it is demonstrated in a life, it points to God and never fails to bear fruit. Paul writes:
“Love is patient, love is kind, it is not envious. Love does not brag, it is not puffed up. It is not rude, it is not self-serving, it is not easily angered or resentful. It is not glad about injustice, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. But if there are prophecies, they will be set aside; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be set aside.” —1 Corinthians 13:4–8
Become More
Paul says that if anything is done apart from the motivation of love—no matter how wonderful—it is worth nothing (1 Corinthians 13:1–3). He tells us that love it is greater than faith and hope (1 Corinthians 13:13). As Christians, we are to be a people known and marked by love.
Further Reflection
“Let us note how far from satisfactory is the state of those who are content with sound doctrinal opinions, and orthodox correct views of the Gospel, while in their daily life they give way to ill-temper, ill-nature, malice, envy, quarrelling, squabbling, bickering, surliness, passion, snappish language, and crossness of word and manner. Such persons, whether they know it or not, are daily proclaiming that they are not Christ’s disciples. It is nonsense to talk about justification, and regeneration, and election, and conversion, and the uselessness of works, unless people can see in us practical Christian love.” —John Charles Ryle