John 13:34-35, A New Commandment

34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” 

From the beginning, God has created us for relationship, community, and love. We worship a Trinitarian God, who has love between the Father, Son, and Spirit. We are built for loving, covenantal relationships. When we do not have them, we become sad and depressed, because we are functioning outside the pattern for which God created us. 

The new commandment is really an old commandment from Leviticus 19:18. What is new is that this will be the commandment for the New Covenant Jesus will make at the cross. The cross defines, or perhaps redefines, what love is. It is this kind of sacrificial love that Jesus calls his disciples to express toward one another. It will be their calling card and identification to those outside their community. We in the church today seem to have lost this kind of selfless love that is to be the norm for Christian community. This kind of love on display authenticates the gospel for all to see. As in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus puts no limit on the demonstration of this love. It is for all to see and experience. 

Lord Jesus, you call us to depths of love that welcome all people regardless of whom they are. Help us to repent when we fail and to return again to you the Author and Perfector of sacrificial love, that we may start afresh and love anew the people you put in our lives. Through your Spirit establish us as living temples of your love in a world desperately in need of you. Amen.