Love Is Required

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

John 13:34-35

The sooner that we learn to love; the sooner we will be able to walk in the commandments that God has given us… Love is a (n) essential part of our everyday life and daily affairs… When we walk in love we are able to build relationships instead of tearing people down… Love is the key to opening the doors of people’s hearts around you; which therefore will allow them to receive the word that God has placed in you to provide to them… Love can be the difference between offending someone and providing constructive criticism that is received… This is why Christ provides a new commandment for us in the gospel of John… Did you know that there are actually 624 commandments in the bible? You have the original ten given by the Lord to Moses, then 613 that were adopted under Moses as the Mosaic Law and last but not least the commandment found in today’s scripture lesson… Jesus Christ teaches the disciples about the importance of love and abounding compassion… 

This commandment does not void the previous ones recorded in the bible; it simply sums up how all these things can be accomplished… When you love you won’t steal or kill; when you walk in love you won’t covet your neighbors things nor disrespect your mother and father… Ill-will, wickedness, malice or resentment cannot live in a garden when a seed of love is planted… I find it interesting to note that Christ gave this commandment before His death and while trying to minister to His followers and disciples! Jesus says a new commandment I give you, that ye love one another! Understand that the previous statues were to govern the body (you shouldn’t do this and you shouldn’t do that), Christ commandment calls for action and involvement within each person as a child of God! He says that it is by this action that you will be His disciples! Christ not only says that we are to love, but He says that we are to love “…as I have loved you…” There are so many different forms of love and many people confuse love with other things…The love that Jesus refers to is a (n) Agape love, a love the transcends differences, a love that sacrifices and remains humble… The love that we are to display isn’t just brotherly, but spiritual… You are called to walk as Christ walked; extend a hand the same way in which Christ extended His hand to you… So many people walk around speaking the words “I love you” but do not display the actions that fulfill the verbal gesture… 

Make no mistake about it, love is an action word… It is by the love that Christ displayed in His walk and on the cross that we have the chance at Salvation; likewise, the love that we display shows others who the role model is in our lives and what things we seek… It isn’t about the fact that you go to church every Sunday, it’s not the fact that you attend every Bible Study or Church meeting, it’s not the fact that you pray every day of the week; the way to know that you are a child of God is when you display love… Extend your hand to your adversary, when you say a kind word of encouragement to your neighbor, or when you simply administer a pure love toward your fellow man that doesn’t have any strings attached! Christ understood that these people were in the church, but they were still focused on themselves and not the greater good of the congregation! We need to understand that our focus should not be on what we can gain, or what we shall profit, we need to be focused on is the church body being a strong foundation to grow and mature as Christian’s disciples. The slander needs to stop, the gossip should cease, and the true fellowship should begin. If people avoid you when you are having a bad day, or feel like they have a heavy heart when you enter the room, you need to check your values and focus as to what you are trying to achieve while on this earth. So many of us have lost our blessings by focusing on negative things, so many of us carry unnecessary burdens by trying to puff up our own image… Christ says your love will show the way, your love will keep you in peace, your love will keep you grounded, and more importantly, your love will put you in the right frame of mind to be exalted by our God! LET US LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS CHRIST LOVED THE CHURCH, AND GAVE HIMSELF UP FOR IT!!!!!!

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!