John 13: 34-35
A new commandment I give to you , that you love one another, even as I have Loved you, that you also Love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have Love for one another.
The commandment was to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. But we already treat other people according to how we see ourselves. When we have low self-esteem, then we will not treat others very well, either; and when we realize our worth that God has valued us at, then we also treat others as valuable.
God's Love is not like our human, natural love. What is new about this commandment is that we are to love one another, not as we love ourselves, but as God Loves us. Not to consider one another only according to our natural affection for them, but to treat them as the valuable person they are in God's sight.
God has Loved us with His agape Love which is unconditional. It doesn't matter what we have done in our past, God Loves us the same. Even when we were still sinners, enemies of God, He sent His Son to be our personal Sacrifice. He gave His very best, His most precious, for each one of us. That's how He loves us.
And that's the new commandment, that we are to give this unconditional Love to one another. This is not a feeling of affection, it's a decision of our will to treat one another with the value God places on each of us; the respect and honor due a special creation of the Almighty. Even when some brother or sister in the Lord has not treated us favorably, we are still to be gracious and forgiving toward them, as Christ has been toward us.
We cannot do this. We tend to see those who love us differently from those who hate us, so we have much affection for some and none for others. That's why we are not to depend on our feelings. We are to depend on His Spirit dwelling in us to be able to decide to deal with our sisters and brothers in Christ according to the value God has placed on them, and follow through to do it. Even if they still react negatively. God's Love can draw them.
O my Father, please help us to realize the great Love wherewith You have Loved us, even when we were still in rebellion against You. You Loved us with a Love far beyond our understanding, to draw us to Yourself and cause us to be born spiritually into Your own family.
Father, You have given us Your own Holy Spirit to live in our spirit, making us alive right now, and on into eternity. Only with Your Love can we love others the way You have determined, and this supernatural Love that we are to demonstrate will show the World that Jesus really did come and die for us, and is alive forevermore.
And all the glory and honor and praise and blessing and power and might and wisdom is Yours forever.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
