02-Feb: A New Command
In the Gospel of John Jesus tells His disciples:
When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once. “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come. “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.” (John 13:31-35)
Have you ever thought about what Jesus meant when He called “loving one another” a new command? God had commanded through Moses, “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 19:18) With this stated on the surface it seems as if the command was not new – but we know Jesus said it was and thus it was!
Here’s some food for thought in why this command was new. First, we must realize that the command to “love” was not new, but rather the model and way to love was new. John wrote of this,
Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. (1John 2:7-10)
Previously the focus was on how we ourselves wanted to be loved. Hence, love your neighbor as yourself. However, Jesus brought a new perspective of that command to light. It is in His perspective that the command gets its newness. Jesus is love incarnate. While on earth He was the walking epitome of love. He modeled in person the love the Father has for each of us and how the Father expects us to love one another. I may not love myself and therefore not truly understand how to “love my neighbor” but as Jesus as my model of what love is like, I am challenged even greater to love others the way God loves them. This is not an easy task by any means.
Today as you read this I challenge you to think about whether or not you truly love others in the way Christ loved us. Jesus said that “all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” The implications of such love are to be tremendous. Some of the most destitute and difficult people of Jesus’ day flocked to Him because of His love for them. Even those who despised who He was, He still loved. It is God’s love that is overwhelmingly attractive for those outside the church and it is when we model God’s love that God uses us to draw men unto Himself. Jesus said, “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” (John 12:32) This act of total giving of Himself on the cross as a penalty for our sins is the greatest act of love the world has seen. It is Christ’s love that draws men to Himself and knowing this, followers of Christ should work hard to follow in His steps by loving one another. I pray this finds you seeking the cross with all your heart! ~ signed, a fellow sojourner in Christ, pastor bill.
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