Love One Another (3)

The Command To Love

Jesus commands his disciples to love one another. This is not a suggestion but a command. Suggestions are up to a persons discretion but commandments aren't. When God gave Adam the commandment not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it was not something he could use his discretion regarding. The Lord told him that if he ate he would die. The Lord commanded Noah to build an ark. This was not a suggestion. If he didn’t build the ark he and his family would have been swept away in the flood. When God commanded Abraham to leave his sinful land and family to go to a place that He would show him, it was not a suggestion. God was going to use him as a blessing to all people. When God gave the ten commandments to Moses these were not suggestion. If the people rebelled against the commandments they would be a hindrance for the people going into the promise land. Commandments are to be taken seriously.

So why would Jesus command his disciples and us to love one another? The answer is found in John13:35

John 13:35 NASB95

“By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Loving one another is part of our testimony. It shows a lost and dying world that We belong to Jesus Christ. Loving people is what Jesus does. It is His nature to love. 1 John 4:8

1 John 4:8 NASB95

The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

By loving others we are demonstrating who we belong to. We do as our Savior does.

Not only does loving others demonstrate being a disciple of Jesus Christ, but it just makes life much more enjoyable. When we learn to appreciate the people in our lives more and not be as critical, it is a lot less stressful. Loving others brings peace while hating others brings strife. It is much better for us to love one another.

Extent Of Our Love

Love Unconditionally

Jesus tells us to love others how He loved us. The question then becomes how does Jesus love us? The answer is unconditionally. This means that our love for others is not conditioned on their love for us or their behavior towards us. As a matter of fact this is how God love’s us. Romans 5:8

Romans 5:8 NASB95

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

When we were enemies and rebels toward God, He loved us. This is huge to know because many people believe that they have to straighten their lives out before they come into a relationship with Jesus. The Scriptures are clear that God’s love for us is not conditional, but rooted in His character. Loving others will become part of our character as we follow Jesus. Like the story told by James Moore about a man named George:

LOVE GOD, LOVE PEOPLE

James Moore tells about a man named George. George was a peacemaker with a big heart and wonderful sense of humor. Everyone loved George at church, and he was respected at the hospital where he worked. The reason why so many people loved George was because he was always kind and respectful to everyone he met.

George’s children clearly remember the days George spent in the hospital before his death. The administrator of the hospital paid him a visit. They spoke as though they were old friends. A few minutes later one of the janitors came to visit George. They too had a nice visit.

When the janitor left, one of George’s children said to him, "Dad, did you realize that you treated the president of the hospital and the janitor just alike?" George smiled, chuckled and then said, "Let me ask you something: If the administrator left for two weeks and the janitor left for two weeks, which one do you think would be missed the most?"

Then George called his children around his bed. "Let me show you something I carry in my pocket all the time," he told them, "even when I mow the lawn." George pulled out a pocket-sized cross and a marble with the golden rule on it. George said, "On the cross are written these words, ‘God Loves You,’ and on the marble are these words, ‘Do unto Others as You Would Have Them Do unto You.’ The cross reminds me of how deeply God loves me. And the marble reminds me of how deeply God wants me to love others.”

(SOURCE: James W. Moore, WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS..., (Nashville: Dimensions for Living, 1993), p. 78. Found in “Weird People Everywhere” by King Duncan - 1 Cor 12:1-11 – 2005.)

We should love all just as George loved

Love by Discipline

Another way God loves is consistently. When we sin God doesn’t stop loving us. He will discipline us because He loves us. Hebrews 12:4-12

Hebrews 12:4–12 NASB95

You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you are reproved by Him; For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives.” It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble,

Because God loves us He disciplines us. His discipline brings about the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

Can you imagine if Jesus stopped loving his disciples every time they messed up? Poor Peter wouldn’t have stood a chance. I know if God’s love for me was based on my behavior, I wouldn’t stand a chance either.

Love By Sacrifice

Jesus said that the greatest extent of Love is to give your life for your friend. Understanding that in just one day Jesus would do this very thing. He was going to die for the sins of his disciples and the whole world. 1John 2:2

1 John 2:2 NASB95

and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

Now we cannot do this. We cannot die for the sins of anyone, but we can sacrifice our lives for others in different ways.

Are we willing to sacrifice our time to help a friend? A friend calls and says I need help fixing a busted water pipe, but you have a tee time on the day he calls. You have a girlfriend that has just broken up with her boyfriend and needs someone to talk to, but you have a hair, nail, and shopping trip planned for that day.

Are we willing to sacrifice our material goods for a friend? You have just purchased a new riding lawn mower, and your friend calls to borrow it? Your friend has just been evicted from their apartment and asks if they can stay in your extra bedroom until they get paid again?

Are we telling our friends what they want to hear or what they need to hear? You have a friend that you know is having an affair on his wife. Do you keep quiet or confront them privately? You have a girlfriend that is” madly in love” with her new boyfriend, but you know he is a womanizer. Do you break her heart by telling her or just let her find out on her own?

Reason We love

Jesus commands us to love because when we do we are His friend. How can we be a friend to Jesus if we do not do what He says. He knows and wants what is best for us.He will never guide us into anything that will bring destruction in our lives. As a friend we want what is best for our friend. We should always give them good sound advice that is Bible based.

There once was a man named Randy Lo – his friends just called him Lo. Lo lived a hard life ignoring the many attempts of friends to introduce him to Jesus Christ. Eventually, though, Lo did become a Christian, giving his life over to our Lord Jesus. After some time, his walk with the Lord became stale, and Lo became quite discouraged, and his discouragement led to him lose a lot of sleep. One day while having lunch with a friend he expressed his discouragement saying that he didn’t feel that God was around him anymore, and this disturbed him so much he could hardly get a wink of sleep. His friend being a wise and mature Christian encouraged Lo not to give up but to again pick up his bible and search the Scriptures – he suggested starting with the Gospel of Mathew. Lo went home and decided to take his friends advice and he found his bible and started reading. Soon he arrived at Mathew 28: 20 and read the words of Jesus: lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. That night Lo slept quite soundly.

Jesus friendship with us is not simply theological it is practical because it is the catalyst that allows us to relate to others.

A friend of mine pastors in the Bloor West village in Toronto and runs a "God at the Pub" where he holds open discussions on the Christian faith in a bar setting. He told me the other day that he has all sorts of people there who are not people of faith, but who have told him they want to model their lives on Jesus.

They find in Him the highest good, the most perfect relating to others, the noblest and most admirable kind of existence they can imagine for themselves. They are perhaps finding their way to faith in Jesus without knowing it.

But what about us...do we see Jesus as He is in the Scriptures? Do we appreciate the beauty of His humanity?

We focus a lot, rightfully, on His deity...the fact that He is God in the flesh. Nothing wrong with that. But what do we do, really...with His humanity.

Clearly, others...others even who are lacking in their understanding of Christ's deity, are able to connect with His humanity...able to see something truly beautiful in His conduct and His word, the profound way that He was able to connect with people, how Jesus went out of His way to love, and that that is the legacy of His humanity. He knew how to love.

Have you identified with the humanity of Christ’s friendship? You can tell by the relationships you have around you.