|
A new commandment I give unto you,
A new commandment was given by Jesus: To love others
as he has loved us. We know the great commandment is to love God
with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength and like it, to love your
neighbor as yourself. So to love as Jesus loved must go beyond
that. Can you imagine? How did Jesus love? How is
that different from the great commandment?That you love one another; as I have loved You, that ye also love one another Jn13:34 Jesus love was sacrificial. He sacrificed his position in heaven to become a baby in a stable in Bethlehem. He became weak that we might become strong. He lived an unobserved life for almost all of his thirty years except for his time in the temple and he submitted to his parents even though he had to be about his Father’s business. In his ministry He had no where to lay his head. He had no income. He did not write a book or hold political office or invent or discover anything. He simply demonstrated the love of His Father by preaching the kingdom, healing the sick, and raising the dead. His will was to do the will of the Father and to yield to the Holy Spirit. He suffered all this to the point of death, death on a cross. He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of his peace was upon us and by his stripes we are healed. To love as Jesus loved is a noble calling but it is a calling not recognized by the world. It is a call to forsake all and follow him. It is a call to deny yourself and take up your cross. It is a call to cut off the right hand or pluck out the right eye, to cut off those natural things, those good things if they hinder your walk with God, in order to live an unobstructed life for Christ. Jesus calls us to live a heroic life for the kingdom of God: To sacrifice the natural life for the kingdom. It is to love others ‘more’ than you love yourself. It is to love others with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength: to love as Jesus loved. It requires of us to be born again and to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. It requires of us to know scripture and to have the mind of Christ. It demands of us obedience to the Spirit and unflinching confidence and faith in God. Then the life that is hidden with Christ in God will perform miracles and healings and the dead will be raised to life and many will be born into the kingdom of God. Then Christianity will be more than a religion but a way of life and people will experience the Spirit of God, the will of God, and the love of God. Then great will be your reward in heaven. A new commandment I give you: love as I have loved you. It is a powerful commission that will ask of you to sacrifice all that you are and all that you hope to be for God and God’s people. Amen |