John 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
Christ gave his disciples a new commandment, “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” This is in contrast to similar a commandment in the Old Covenant that God had given Israel, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” The difference between the two commands is the standard by which a person is to love another. Christ raises the already high standard to love another person from the love we give ourselves to the love that Christ has demonstrated to his disciples.
It is easy to assume that the love Christ demonstrated to his disciples was that he died on the cross for them. If that’s the case, we may come to the conclusion that in order to fulfill Christ’s command all we need to do as His disciples is be willing to die for each other. While the full extent of Christ’s love for His disciples was demonstrated in his death, He had not yet died for them at the time this command was given.
Up into this point in Christ’s earthly ministry, He loved them by choosing them, seeking them out, spending time with them, walking with them, teaching them, physically providing for them, protecting them, and the most recent thing, doing one of the lowliest of things a servant could do: wash their feet.
By the power of the Holy Spirit and His love working through us, let us follow Christ’s command and tangibly and practically love each other. As a first step in obeying His command, take a moment and choose a fellow believer you are willing to reach out to with the love of Christ this week.
Pastor Mike Tong