Community: A new kind of family

Text: John 13:34–35

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” — Jesus

Introduction:

We are more connected than ever. With a tap, we can message someone across the world, follow hundreds of people, or join a virtual community on any topic. And yet — studies show we’re lonelier, more anxious, and more isolated than generations before us.

The Practicing the Way course puts it like this:

“Despite the unprecedented connectivity of the modern era, genuine community is vanishing. Isolation, transience, and superficiality can sabotage our formation into people of mature love. But through Jesus, we enter a new kind of family that offers intimacy, joy, healing, and commitment.”

Today, Jesus is calling us into this “new kind of family” - and He gives us the key to entering it: love.

1. A New Command for a New Community

Jesus says, “A new command I give you: Love one another.”

This wasn’t new because love had never been taught before. The Old Testament commanded love for neighbors. But what made this command new was the standard:

“As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

That’s not casual love.

That’s not “as long as you agree with me” love.

That’s not “when it’s convenient” love.

This is Jesus’ kind of love — sacrificial, patient, forgiving, honest, and committed.

It’s the kind of love that washed feet.

The kind of love that welcomed the outcast.

The kind of love that went to a cross.

And Jesus tells us: This is the love that must define His people.

2. Love is Our Greatest Witness

Jesus continues:

“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Notice what He didn’t say.

He didn’t say, “By your theology,” or “By your worship style,” or “By your social media posts.”

He said the world will know we follow Him by our love — for each other.

Our love is the evidence of our discipleship.

The world is watching — and when they see a community marked by real, self-giving love, they’ll see Jesus.

But when they see division, gossip, comparison, and cliques — they see nothing different from the world.

3. Love Creates a New Kind of Family

Let’s be honest: community is hard. People are messy. Love costs something.

But we don’t love because it’s easy. We love because He loved us first (1 John 4:19).

And through that love, we become part of a new kind of family — the family of God.

This family doesn’t bail when it’s inconvenient.

It doesn’t ghost when things get awkward.

It shows up. It forgives. It walks with.

It moves from Sunday acquaintances to everyday brothers and sisters.

And it’s through this kind of community that God forms us into people of mature love.

Not just warm feelings. But a kind of love that looks like Jesus.

How Do We Live This Out?

Let me give you 3 practices to move from isolation to Jesus-shaped community:

1. Commit.

Don’t treat church like a spiritual drive-thru. Plug in. Show up consistently. Join a group. Serve on a team. Love grows with time and presence.

2. Confess.

Drop the mask. Let people into your real struggles. Healing begins when we walk in the light together (James 5:16).

3. Carry.

Bear one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:2). Look for someone to encourage, pray for, support. Be the kind of friend you hope to find.

Conclusion:

Jesus didn’t say the world would know us by our buildings, our brand, or our busyness — but by our love.

Let’s not settle for shallow connections in a hyper-connected world. Let’s be a people who actually love each other — like Jesus loved us.

And in doing that, we’ll not only experience joy, healing, and intimacy —

we’ll show the world what God’s family looks like.

Let’s love one another — for real.

Prayer:

“Jesus, thank You for loving us with a love that never fails. Help us become a people who love like You — not just in words, but in truth and action. Form us into a new kind of family, where isolation ends, healing begins, and the world sees You. Amen.”