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| THE TWELVE APOSTLES. Image from reclaimingthemind.org via google.com |
"This I command you: love one another."
The Lord Jesus Christ gave only one important command for us to follow: love one another.
As Christians we are called to love one another so that the world may know that we are Christ's followers and friends [see John 13: 34-35]. More importantly, the Lord commands us to love one another in accordance with the love by which He loved us: a love that is willing to sacrifice - even to the point of giving up one's life - for the sake of a friend [see John 15: 12-17]: not just any kind of love.
It is by loving one another according to that love by which the Lord loved us that we could be recognized by the world for the world is more inclined to love only those who love it. While we, Christians, are called even to love those who hate us and pray for those who persecute us so that we may become children of the heavenly Father who lets the sun shine and send the rain on both the good and the bad, the righteous and the unrighteous [see Matthew 5: 44-45].
For the Lord said that if we love only those who love us and greet only those who belong to our community, what benefit can we get there [see Matthew 5: 46a, 47a]? For even sinners and pagans do such things [see Matthew 5: 46b, 47b]. He finishes such exhortations by saying that we must therefore be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect [see Matthew 5:48].
Hence loving is tied up with perfection for if we truly love we become like God and we will not fear for only those who do not love experience fear for fear implies punishment while perfect love drives out fear [see 1 John 4: 17-18]. And if we love God, we will love one another for we cannot say we love God and hate our brethren [see 1 John 4: 20-21]. Therefore, if we love one another, we truly affirm that God is in us [see 1 John 4: 12-13] and that we truly know God and so we become true children of God [see 1 John 4: 7-8]. Moreover, we ought to love for God has loved us first [see 1 John 4:19] and therefore being children of God, as Christians, we cannot not love. Through love, we could already fulfill everything for even the Law and the Prophets hang upon love [see Galatians 5:14; Matthew 22:40].
Let us therefore love one another for love is of God and God himself is love [see 1 John 4:16].
As Christians we are called to love one another so that the world may know that we are Christ's followers and friends [see John 13: 34-35]. More importantly, the Lord commands us to love one another in accordance with the love by which He loved us: a love that is willing to sacrifice - even to the point of giving up one's life - for the sake of a friend [see John 15: 12-17]: not just any kind of love.
It is by loving one another according to that love by which the Lord loved us that we could be recognized by the world for the world is more inclined to love only those who love it. While we, Christians, are called even to love those who hate us and pray for those who persecute us so that we may become children of the heavenly Father who lets the sun shine and send the rain on both the good and the bad, the righteous and the unrighteous [see Matthew 5: 44-45].
For the Lord said that if we love only those who love us and greet only those who belong to our community, what benefit can we get there [see Matthew 5: 46a, 47a]? For even sinners and pagans do such things [see Matthew 5: 46b, 47b]. He finishes such exhortations by saying that we must therefore be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect [see Matthew 5:48].
Hence loving is tied up with perfection for if we truly love we become like God and we will not fear for only those who do not love experience fear for fear implies punishment while perfect love drives out fear [see 1 John 4: 17-18]. And if we love God, we will love one another for we cannot say we love God and hate our brethren [see 1 John 4: 20-21]. Therefore, if we love one another, we truly affirm that God is in us [see 1 John 4: 12-13] and that we truly know God and so we become true children of God [see 1 John 4: 7-8]. Moreover, we ought to love for God has loved us first [see 1 John 4:19] and therefore being children of God, as Christians, we cannot not love. Through love, we could already fulfill everything for even the Law and the Prophets hang upon love [see Galatians 5:14; Matthew 22:40].
Let us therefore love one another for love is of God and God himself is love [see 1 John 4:16].
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