It peaks our curiosity when we hear of something “new”. New technology, new discoveries, new movies, new news! Jesus gave his followers something new as well:
“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. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” – John 13:34-35 (ESV)
A new commandment is a big deal. It’s not like God dishes out new commandments every day. So Jesus was saying: hey, this is something really important!!
Jesus wants his followers to be known as ones who LOVE each other. If you want to be a follower of Jesus, love is what should characterize your relationship with other followers of Jesus!
Now, love was nothing new in God’s paradigm. God is love, so loving God and loving your neighbor were always a part of God’s desire for his followers.
The “new” part is that we are to love each other “as I have loved you” Jesus said. And Jesus exemplified a certain kind of love… a sacrificial love.
To love other believers the way Jesus loves us, is to love sacrificially. It will cost you everything you got, just like it cost Jesus everything He had when he died on the cross for your sin. He did it for you, because of His sacrificial love for you.
1 Corinthains 13, the love chapter, is read at weddings, but the context is really for the church! It’s about sacrificial love between believers in the church!
Read this with the church in mind:
“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails… 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
Have you ever considered these verses as applying to the church? Jesus wants Christians to live in a new way… to follow His example, and exhibit deep sacrificial love for each other within the church!
If you don’t currently have a local church family, we invite you to join Glen Arbor Community Church on Sundays @ 10 am at 204 Church Street in West Chicago, IL. As imperfect as we are, we strive to be a church family who loves each other as Jesus loves us!