John 13:34-35 “A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Sometimes we forget that commands are among the things Jesus gives us. (You could say equally that they are among the things God gives us in Christ, but splitting linguistic hairs isn’t particularly beneficial.) However, we also need to remember that He enables us to obey every command He gives us, if we will allow Him to do so. (1 John 5:3) We often have a knee-jerk reaction to any sort of command, much like a small child whose favorite word is “No!” That’s because, again like that child, we don’t realize that God’s commands are for our benefit. We like to cherry-pick the promises out of the Bible, not acknowledging that the vast majority of them are conditional on obedience. Here, if we want people to recognize us as disciples of Jesus, we have to love one another. That doesn’t seem so hard until we start considering how Jesus has loved us, and then we suddenly realize that here too we need God’s help. Sacrificial, unconditional love does not come easily for us! However, as with all of God’s commands, the benefits are immense. It doesn’t take a great deal of observation to realize that there is no greater blessing than being an open channel for the love of God. All the unhappy people in the world are in some way blocking the flow of the love of God to and through them. It’s no accident that the “greatest commandment” is to love God and the next is to love our neighbor. (Matthew 22:36-40)

I was immersed in love from before my birth, but many are not so blessed. However, we cannot blame circumstances for everything. Just yesterday I was hearing about adult twins, one of whom is a very happy, open person and the other is sour and bitter and unhappy. It was all in how they perceived and responded to their circumstances, not in the circumstances themselves. As a pastor, I not only need to keep my own focus on Christ so that I will recognize and transmit the overwhelming love that is poured out on me, I need to help the believers do the same. As a church we desire that people recognize that we belong to Christ, so we need to be active in our obedience to this command! James and John both pointed out in their letters that lip service doesn’t cut it, either in loving God or in loving our neighbor. I need to help the believers recognize the practical expressions of love they can give and receive, so that we may be bound together in love indeed.

Father, You are indeed growing us in this area. Thank You. I pray that You would open the eyes of our hearts more and more, to see Jesus first of all, and then seeing Him, see one another as You see us, so that Your love may flow unhindered, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!