| “These things I command you, that ye love one another” (John 15:17). |
| One of the commandments that God has given us in the New Testament is to love one another. This commandment is so important that it is repeated twelve times over, and by different Bible writers too. The Lord Jesus Himself said it three times, the Apostle Paul said it twice, Peter says it once, and John says it six times. We really need to pay attention to this commandment! |
| When we extend our love to others, we expect them to love us in return. That way, we can have a happy relationship. But the word for love that is used in the Bible to tell us to love one another is a word in the Greek language that means a kind of love that does not need someone to love us in return for our love. It just keeps on loving, even if the person we love does not love us. That is hard to do, but it is what God did for us. He loved us when we were sinners, and did not want Him. His love gave His Son to die for us, and the Lord Jesus went to Calvary’s cross because He loved us. |
| Now, when we accept the Lord Jesus as our Savior, God gives you and me a new life in Christ. This new life has the ability to love as God loves, and this is a wonderful thing. In the Old Testament, the Israelites were told to love God; in fact, it was the first of the ten commandments. But the natural man could not do this; he did not have the capacity to love that way. John calls this an old commandment (1 John 2:7) because it was a commandment that man could not keep until he had new life in Christ. Now, when we are told to love one another, it is called a new commandment. This is because those who are saved now are able to love one another like this. |
| It is rather sad that God has to repeat this commandment so many times, but He knew how difficult it would be for Christians to love one another the way that they should. How easily we can get bothered about little things! The Lord Jesus said that this was the way people would recognize His followers, by seeing how much they loved one another. As we have already said, this is one of the most important commandments to remember! |
