Love One Another!

There are so many directions that I could take with these verses. Certainly this could be a whole sermon, and ABSOLUTELY should be more often than it is. Today, I want to take 4 thoughts that this passage brings forth in my mind and the expound just a little on each

1. This is a Commandment .... Not a suggestion!

Verse 12 is VERY clear. Jesus is making a command. That means compliance is not optional but rather EXPECTED. When asked, Jesus once said that Loving the father was the greatest command that God has ever given. However, he went on to say that he really couldn’t separate the second greatest. And that is to love thy neighbor as thyself. There is NO wiggle room here.

2. Love One Another does not necessarily equate to “Like” one another

Liking someone or approving of one’s choices, lifestyles or actions is NOT the same as loving that person. We have NOT been commanded to like everyone. We have NOT been commanded to approve of everyone. Nor have we even been commanded to tolerate everyone! We have been commanded to LOVE everyone. So is there a difference ... really? Absolutely! Did Jesus Love everyone? Absolutely he demonstrated it by dying for the sins of the world! Did that mean that he approved or even tolerated everyone of those people that he interacted with? No way! He called the religious leaders of the day snakes. He drove profiteers out of the temple and no one in their right mind can conclude that while hanging on the cross, he liked those that were yelling “Crucify him”

3. Love is ACTIVE .... not a warm and Fuzzy feeling

God so LOVED that he cried and cried and cried over his warm and fuzzy feelings that he had for mankind. Is that what John 3:16 says? NO! God so loved that he GAVE. He acted. Love is a verb. A word of action.

4. Love demands that we want the best for other.

This is a tough one. Love does not equate to tolerance. Rather, just the opposite. Love demands that we intervene for the best of another. A great example has played out this week in the news. There are a lot of people that will claim to have loved Whitney Houston, however, too many people failed at intervening in her life. Real love is not saying “Its her life she can do what she wants. True love would have demanded that someone get in her face and do everything possible to stop her. That is not to say that no one did. But clearly not enough did. Again, God’s actions makes this point as well. God intervened. So if we are to love others, at times, that means we must tell others that they are going down the wrong way spiritually. That a certain behavior or action is a SIN. That is true love.

May we truly decide to love others as God loves us!