The Law of Love
In John 13:34, Jesus
said, “A new commandment I give to
you, that you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one
another.” He went on to say, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for
one another.”
Here Jesus made two important statements.
First, He commanded us to love each other. Then He said that the way people
would know that we were Christians is by
the love we have for each other. Jesus did not say that His disciples would
be recognized as Christians because of some gold embossed certificate or
license hanging on an office wall. Jesus did not say that His disciples would
be recognized as Christians because of the way they would dress. No, Jesus said that the way His disciples
would be recognized would be one way only. Others
would see that they had love for each other. Then the world would know that
they were disciples of Jesus.
Jesus commanded us again in John 15:12,
where He said, “This is my
commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no
one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” Jesus
did not ask us to love each other; it was not a suggestion. He commanded us to love each other! It is not an option for a Christian. It is a
requirement.
Once a man told me that it was impossible
for him to love this certain person. Then he spent much time telling me the
details about this man and how he had destroyed his home and his marriage. Then
he went on to say. “So you see, that’s
why it’s impossible for me to love this man. I’m sure God understands.” Well,
he was right. God does understand that under natural circumstances it would be
impossible to walk in love. That is why He sent His Son, Jesus. Once we accept
Jesus as our Lord and Savior, then we have access to power that helps us love
those who do not deserve it. After all,
what’s the big deal about loving someone who is nice to you and loves you?
Anybody can do that. But, the mark of a
true Christian is when we love those who do not love us and are hard to love.
In Matthew 5:43, Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall
love your neighbor and hate your enemy,’ but I say to you, ‘Love your enemies,
bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those
who spitefully use and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in
heaven.’ Jesus goes on to
say, ‘For if you love those who love
you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors
do the same?’”
Here Jesus puts it on the line. If we only
love those who love us, we are no different from the world. Even the people of
the world who are not Christians love those who love them. But we are to be different. We, as Christians,
are not under the old law. We are under the new covenant. We live under the law
of love, empowered by Jesus.
Ayokanmi Moses –
Agape…means a determination of the
mind, whereby we achieve this unconquerable goodwill even to those who hurt and
injure us. Agape…is the power to
love those that we do not like, and who may not like us. In point of fact, we
can only have agape when Jesus Christ enables us to conquer our natural
tendency to anger and to bitterness, and to achieve this invincible goodwill to
all men.
If we regard a person with such goodwill,
it will often mean that we must restrain, discipline or protect him against
himself. But it will also mean that we
do not punish to satisfy our desire for revenge, but in order to make him a
better man…Christian discipline must be aimed…at cure and will always be
remedial.
We note that this
commandment (in Matt.
William Barclay
I want, Dear Lord, a heart that
feels for all,
A deep strong love that answers
every call.
A love like Thine, a love Divine,
A love for high and low.
On me, Dear Lord, a love like this
bestow.