Verse 34 (John 13 v34)
is stunning. “A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you,
so you must love one another”. Wow! If Jesus had just left us with the first
“love one another” bit then we might feel we could get away with a worldly
response: generally trying to be a good person, a standing order to some worthy
cause, supporting our friends, loving our family and so on. But then He
delivers the knock-out qualifying clause: “As I have loved you” – and suddenly
the shocking scope of His challenge is brought home. The enormity of Jesus’
love for us is beyond words – He loved and loved and loved and loved –
unconditionally, unreservedly and unashamedly. He loved the unlovable, the
unpopular and the ungrateful. And ultimately He sacrificed everything in the
supreme act of love to each one of us on the cross. So “Love one another
as I have loved you” is the tallest of all orders. The good news is that we
have a lot in common with Jesus. First Jesus was God made man – during his time
on earth he was human – just like us, subject to the same limitations and
temptations as ourselves – and yet look at how He loved! Second, Jesus was
filled with the Holy Spirit – a power available to us as well. Let us ask for
the Holy Spirit to help us live like He lived.
(member of the
congregation)