What did Jesus mean when He told us to love one another?

John 13:34 :

So now I am giving you a new commandment. Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love one another. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are My disciples.

To me what we are being told is that by doing this we are a witness to the world of Jesus and all that He has done and will do.What better example can we be than this. We can talk all we want but that really doesn't mean a thing. How many times have you said one thing and then done another, I know I have. Some people grab a Bible under their arm and then out they go and tell people all about a man called Jesus that they follow because He loved hem and forgave them and a day or two later they are seen having an argument wih someone or doing something that is definitely not being done in love.

Jesus is calling us to Unity, to be as one no matter what or who we are. It doesn't matter what church we go to, the question to ask is do they follow Jesus as Saviour and Lord. If the answer is yes then we have to work towards that Unity that Jesus set us towards. The realitywas that to love others really wasn't a new commandment. It appears in Leviticus 19 and 18.

If the love of Jesus is seen in action by unbelievers then it will not only bring unbelievers to Christ it will keep strengthening the believers. It will keep them strong and united in this world that seems so bent on being hosile to our God and His people. See, Jesus died on the cross as an example of God's love for us, therefor we must be a living example of Christ's.

For us to do less demeans our Lord and Saviour. It's the same when we talk about being forgiven [how many times have we seen christian bikers [and christian bikers are not the only ones I am talking about it is just that I am a christian biker with the "forgiven" patch on their jacket and they get in a traffic jam or an accident or some other stress situation and when they get home they rant and rave about how it was the fault of personthat caused the accidnt or whatever that made them late for work or for an appointment or made them late for the movies]. How can we expect to go to God and ask for forgiveness for our sins when we don't forgive those that may inconveniencemor hurt us. This is one of the things that holds a lot of Christians back in their walk with the Father.

Forgiveness is another way to show an example of Jesus's love to non -believers.

Jesus loves us regardless our strengths and weaknesss. It is grace motivated and I find that very humbling whe I realise that Jesus picked me because of my faults. He didn't care He loved me anyway. And that's exactly the way He wants us to be like that too, to see through people's faults and love them as He loves us. We can't do it in our own strength but we can in His and it's there for the asking.

Remember the day is coming I don't know when but is coming when we will stand before Him and He is going to ask us what did we do with all the opportunities He has given us.

In Matthew 25:45: it says

And He will answer, 'I tell you the truth, when you refused to to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.'

In the previous verse He spoke of being hungry or thirsy, or a stranger, or naked and I was sick or in prison. I don't know about you but I reckon that describes just about everybody in the world that does not believe in Jesus as Lord. Yes we have to look after and help our fellow Christians but Jesus doesn't want it stop there . He has given us a purpose to help non-believers as well as believers. What are you going to say on Judgement Day to Jesus?

I am sorry just won't cut it.

Mal [Pastor]
Remnant In Christ Ministries Auatralia Inc.