“I give you a new command; Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
(John 13:34-35 CSB)

As a follower of Jesus, when reading that scripture, I am struck by the fact Jesus was giving a command to his apostles. A command that would sustain them after he ascended to the Father. A new command, not a request, suggestion, or simply a great idea.

A command is an order or directive someone in authority gives to order, require, or compel. Not only is it a command but “a new command”. Robert L. Deffinbaugh, pastor, teacher, and author, writes, “A new command in the sense that it was given by our Lord to the church and not a command given to Israel – the first of the ‘new commandments’ that our Lord will give the church through His apostles.”

He also sets a new standard of love for the love he requires: “Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” How can I do this, love sacrificially all those in the universal church, including those who may dislike me because of my ethnicity, also the people I have marginalized, and the prejudices I have carried in my heart?

Solution: Yield to the work of the Holy Spirit in your life.

• Romans 12:1-2
• Romans 8

This relationship that should exist between each of us in the church is a supernatural grace that causes Christians to love one another deeply, a manifestation of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Prayer for the Week

Heavenly Father, we desire to live by being led and transformed by your Spirit. Create within us hearts governed by your love as we interact with one another, so the world will know that we are your disciples. I am convinced you are able and desire to transform the church. Thank you for the Holy Spirit that empowers us to love each other as You love us. Create within us the desire to yield to the work of the Holy Spirit daily. Only you can change our hearts. Amen.