My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
John 15:12-13 NIV
Love each other. This was Jesus’ command for us as believers: that we love like him. He did not tell us here that we needed to obey the Ten Commandments or any other portion of the Law. He did not give us a different set of rules to follow as believers. Just the single command to love each other. And when we do that, we have fulfilled the Law (Rom. 13:8, 10; Gal. 5:14).
But this is more than just an emotional feeling for people we care about. Jesus tells us to love each other the same way He loved us. By laying down our lives for each other. Jesus loved us so much that He was willing to die in our place on a Roman cross. And in doing so, He set us an example of what love is. And His command is that we follow that example.
This command goes hand in hand with the command to love God with all we are (Matt. 22:36-40). Loving others flows out of loving God and experiencing His love for me. And failing to love others reflects a lack of love for God (1 John 4:7-12).
It is likely that I will not be called upon to give my life as a sacrifice for another believer. But I follow Jesus’ example of love when I die to myself and put others’ interests ahead of my own. When I see a brother or sister in need and help to meet that need, even at great cost or inconvenience to myself (1 John 3:17-18). When I take the time to sit with one who is suffering and offer them comfort. Or when I invest my time and effort in helping them grow as a believer. There are any number of ways that I can lay down my life for another, obeying Jesus’ command to love. Just imagine what the church would be like today if we all lived in obedience to Jesus’ command to love each other.
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