34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. — John 13:34 (NIV)
Some verses seem so familiar to us, that we almost neglect to consider their true meaning. Yes, God is Love (1 John 4:8). Yes, Christians are supposed to love. But to love one another, as Christians…? Some Christians seem more interested to love the world and other religions and to show everybody how fashionable and cool they are in spite of being Christians. What’s wrong with this picture? Well, almost everything. You see, as Christians we are supposed to love other Christians first.
Let’s first study the context of John 13 in our New Testament. It is just before the Passover Festival. Jesus is about to die a horrible death on the cross. He must go to the cross in order to save the mankind. The evening meal is in progress and Judas has left. They are among true friends. Like weekend before work and what gruesome work it will be. Now’s the time to prepare.
What is it that Jesus chooses to say to His team on this crucial last pep talk before the finals? Does He tell them to not be like those uptight Christians who won’t party like it’s your Birthday? Does He warn against Jesus pictures? No, He tells us to love one another because that is how everyone will know that we are His.
33 “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come. 34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”— John 13:33-35 (NIV)
The Amplified Bible has footnotes on John 13:34 that explain, ”The key to understanding this and other statements about love is to know that this love (the Greek word agape) is not so much a matter of emotion as it is of doing things for the benefit of another person, that is, having an unselfish concern for another and a willingness to seek the best for another.”
Let’s not treat Christianity like it’s some hierarchical, cold organization where you get new people hooked and never mind what happens to them after they sign on the dotted line. Would you like to join a chess club if nobody there got along with each other? No, but if the club looked like they were having a good time playing chess together, you’d be tempted to check them out even if you hated board games, like maybe they are fun after all. And just like a chess club is supposed to look like a chess club, a church is supposed to look like a church, not a night club.
Jesus in Matthew 12:25 explains, ”Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.” Every kingdom, and that must also include us because we are in one of the kingdoms like it or not. There are plenty of apparent divisions in the kingdom of darkness, but make no mistake about it, when they can and when they must they always unite against the Kingdom of God. We would have it so much better if there weren’t Christians willing to join the enemy for temporary gain or convenience.
”Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it,” Apostle Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 12. ”If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” Let’s rejoice! Like the popular saying, it’s amazing what we can accomplish if we don’t care who gets the credit.
So the next time you’ll see a brother or a sister handing out leaflets on the town square, don’t look away almost embarrassed because you’re already saved and you don’t want to look weird or anything. No, just walk over to them and smile and maybe say something encouraging, even if this wasn’t how you’d go about sharing the Gospel. It’s ok. They do it their way and you do it yours but let’s show unity while we can.
God bless you, Dear Reader.
Bible Study 