During the last night that Jesus
spent with His disciples, a few memorable events took place. We remember that Jesus washed feet,
instituted the Lord’s Supper, told about the coming Counselor (or Comforter)
and reminded the disciples that He was soon to leave them. They, of course, didn’t have a clue as to
what He was talking about. So they were
very frustrated and uneasy; not at all the festive occasion that the Passover
should have been.
One of the things, however, still remains
very puzzling. Jesus gave them what He
called a “new” commandment. They were to
love one another (John 13:34). What? But that’s not new. God has expressed this “command” all
throughout Scripture (see Leviticus 19:18).
How can Jesus call this a “new” command?
Actually, to understand what Jesus means,
you have to finish His statement. “As
I have loved you, so you must love one another.” Now we can see what is new. Jesus is the standard, the example to imitate
in our showing love to others. He gave
everything - including His life - to demonstrate God’s love for each one of
us. He loves even those who hate Him and
enjoy sinning and persecuting His people.
He left the glory of heaven to express God’s love for everyone which is
without bounds or limits (Philippians 2:5-11).
And His command is that we show this same kind of love to all of those
around us every day. This will be our
trademark; the way others will notice that we are His disciples (John 13:35).
Isn’t it sad that we will stick out like a
sore thumb when we show Jesus’ kind of love to others? The world is so full of hatred and apathy and
selfishness and competition that when we act like Jesus we are put on public
display. Yet this is exactly what God
has called each of us to do for Him in this dark world.
Are you ready to lead the way for this
kind of love? Are you willing to fulfill
this commandment for Jesus? We really
don’t have a choice here. It HAS
to be done. Jesus has already shown you
how to do it. Trust Him to help you
succeed at it.
Doug
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