Love One Another
John 13:34-35; 1 John 3:10b-12, 16-18; 4:7-13, 19
We live in an age where the concept of love has been muddled. Love is especially ambiguous in common American English because we love everything from a cup of coffee, to our home, to our spouse, and Jesus. What then is biblical love? Biblical love is not a fleeting fancy or a trumped-up emotion. Biblical love, on the contrary, is a conscious decision and commitment. Biblical love is based, not solely or even primarily on the “lovability” of the person to whom love is shown, but on the decision of the lover toward the beloved. The emphasis in our society is often on being loved, but the emphasis in Scripture is on showing love.
Christ commanded love: In John 13:34-35, during his last meal with his disciples, Jesus announced a “new commandment” to “love one another; as I have loved you.” Here we see that love is a command of Christ, but it is a specific kind of love. This is not puppy-dog love; this is committed and sacrificial love. We are to love our fellow believers as Christ loves us, and his reason is powerful. According to Jesus, we love each other as an apologetic to the world around us, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Actions demonstrate love: Christ’s command to love is a command to act. To speak of love without showing love is hypocritical. In 1 John 3:10, we read, “Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.” John makes it very clear that Christian love is more than words; it must include action. A person cannot rightly bear the name of Christ and hate his brother in word or deed as John writes in 3:18: “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” Christ loved us by coming to earth as a person and taking on the cross for our sakes. His love spurred him to action for his beloved; we, too, must be driven to action by the love that we have for our fellow believers.
God enables love: Even as we struggle to love as God loves, we can be encouraged by knowing that God enables us to love others through the process of sanctification. In our sinful state, we are self-centered and self-seeking. In Christ, our focus changes to God’s glory instead of our own. John writes in 1 John 4:10: “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” God loved us when we were unlovable, and then sent his Spirit to abide in us that we might love others as he loves. The Holy Spirit of God enables us to love others even when our flesh desires otherwise. Our love for others is evidence of the presence of the Spirit in our own lives.
Thompson– Lessons by Craig Thompson, pastor of Malvern Hill Church, Camden. Thompson earned his B.A from Presbyterian College and is pursuing a Ph.D. from Southern Seminary, where he also earned his M.Div.