Love is the trademark of Jesus' very character. He came to show us how loving the Father really is. He loved all of us so much that while we were still sinners, He died for all of us, ungodly or not. He lavished so much love on us that He did not leave us as orphans but asked the Father to send the Holy Spirit to be with us, guaranteeing that we are God's sons and daughters. This, and many other things, prove to us that all Jesus ever did to and for us was love. And He wants us to do the same.
Love one another
We are tasked to follow and obey what the Lord Jesus taught us. While He has commanded us to go and make disciples (see Matthew 28:18-20), He also gave us a command that is apparently quite hard to do. In John 13:34-35, He said:
"So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."
What does it mean?
Jesus told us to love one another the way He loved us. To better understand this, we should think of some of the ways that He loved people, as written in the Bible.
● He spent time with who religious people call "sinners" so that He could bring the love of God to them;
● He fed the multitudes with fish and bread, miraculously multiplying them to be able to feed them all;
● He did not condemn the woman allegedly caught in adultery, and in fact protected her from her accusers;
● He took off His robes, put on a towel and washed the disciples' feet;
● He carried all our sins upon Himself and took the punishment for our wrongdoing;
● He released forgiveness for all men despite being hung on the cross, bloodied and weary from all the anguish;
● He showed Himself in peace to all believers after His death, and even ate with them;
● He gave us a command to make disciples, teaching all that He has taught us, and has promised to be with us as we do so.
Think about it. His love was unbiased, generous, and protective. Even as God, He was a servant to us. He took all the blame and pain that was for us, and despite that forgave and gave His peace to all of us. He gave our lives meaning and direction, and a constant assurance that we will never be alone as we fulfill our life's purpose of loving Him and the people He loves.
How Christ's love helps us love one another
So how does Jesus Christ's love help us love one another better? The answer is simple. We are able to love one another more when we get to realise how much He loved us. And the more we realise how He loved us, we are able to love one another the way He did.
After all, Jesus said "Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other."
