Essential of true love

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples when ye have love one for another” (John 13 vs. 33-35)

Why is love a ‘new commandment?’ After all, love itself is not a new law. Leviticus said: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (19 vs. 18).

The newness of the commandment is not in the law itself, but in the motivational clause attached to it. Love one another as I have loved you. We are called to love one another as Jesus loved his disciples. How did Jesus love his disciples? What did we see in Christ’s expression of love?
1. We are to love realistically. Jesus sets limits around his loving. He was loving the people that were given to Him to love.

We learn from Jesus that it was impossible to love everyone with the same intensity and commitment. Loving, real one, takes time and dedication.

There are not enough hours in a day to love everyone in this way. Jesus loved all, but reserved a special kind of love for them. There are people in our lives, those we really owe love, those no one else will love if we don’t.

Not the competitive love game we play to win the heart lots of people are competing for. I am talking about those you are meant to love.

2. Jesus also loved intimately. Jesus did everything with his disciples. They did everything together. They ate and slept together, laughed and cried together. They saw one another on their good days and bad days. Jesus fostered a ministry of closeness rather than of distance.

We should have concrete, close, real and personal love. You cannot love people you don’t know. Loving makes you knowable and valuable and that is what we fear.

Even in loving relationship, we tend to manipulate, hide and try to impress and be perfect, so that we will be admired.

But when we are real, then we can truly love. We learn trust, submission and compassion.

3. Jesus loved intentionally. I choose to love, and whom to love. Love is not coincidental. You plan it and give it time. You will make out time to be with the people you love. Your family and friends need you to love them and do it deliberately, whether you feel like or not.

Many of us are terrifically busy. Yet, we give our energy to the things that matter. We move through life at the pace of a hydroplane cutting across the water. But what kind of ripples are we leaving?

Let us make the people in our life worth something. You don’t need to meet the needs of the whole world, just touch impactful the people around you. Pay attention to them and invest meaningfully to their lives. Deliberately contribute to making their lives better. That is love.

What changes are in your spouse’s life since you met? Do you just nag or you are a positive flame? How much love have you given that has turned a person from ill to the best good? What good changes have happen to someone because you are in his/her life? What price has your passion for someone paid?

Jesus’ love story changed the world. What will your love story be?

“Now, before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out this world unto the father, having LOVED HIS OWN which were in the world, HE LOVED THEM UNTO THE END” (John 13 vs. 1).

“Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!” (John 11 vs. 35-36).

E.C. Samuel