Daily Bread: Love One Another

Translated from the Chinese original on huoshi.org.

Scripture

"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." — John 13:34 (KJV)

"By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." — John 13:35 (KJV)

Reflection

It's worth remembering when Jesus said this.

It was the last night before the cross. He had just done something shocking: He got down on the floor and washed His disciples' feet, the job nobody wanted. Judas had just walked out into the night to betray Him. Peter was hours away from denying he'd ever known Him. The rest would scatter by morning.

That's the room Jesus was standing in when He said, "Love one another."

He wasn't speaking to a group of people who had it all together. He was speaking to friends who were about to let Him down, and who would soon have to figure out how to live with each other after they'd all failed. A few chapters earlier, some of these same men had been arguing about who was the greatest. Love one another wasn't a nice sentiment for them. It was going to take work.

"Love your neighbor" was already in the law (Leviticus 19:18). So what made this commandment new? The measure. "As I have loved you." Not as much as feels reasonable. Not as much as the other person deserves. As much as Jesus loved them, which, they would find out the next day, meant all the way.

That's a high bar. Honestly, an impossible one if we try to clear it by willpower. But notice the order: as I have loved you. We love because we were loved first. The command comes after the foot-washing, not before it. Jesus doesn't ask us to produce love out of nothing. He asks us to pass on what we've already received.

And notice the audience. "One another" means the people in the room. Your church, your small group, your roommates, your family, the coworker who sits next to you every day. It's often easier to feel warm toward humanity in general than to be patient with the specific person who takes too long to reply, talks too much in Bible study, or votes differently than you do.

Jesus says that this is how the world will recognize His people. Not by our arguments, our music, or our buildings. By the way we treat each other. That's both encouraging and sobering. People are watching how Christians talk about one another online, how we handle disagreements, how we treat the person who doesn't quite fit in.

What does this love look like on an ordinary day? Usually, it looks small:

• Texting back the friend you've been meaning to check on.
• Letting someone else be right in a disagreement that doesn't really matter.
• Apologizing first.
• Making room at the table for the new person.
• Not repeating the story you heard about someone.

None of that is dramatic. All of it is foot-washing.

Question to sit with

Who is the "one another" that's hardest for you to love right now? What is one small, concrete way you could serve them this week, the way Jesus served His disciples?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, You knelt down and washed the feet of friends who would fail You, and then You loved them all the way to the cross. I can't love like that on my own. Fill me again with the love You've already shown me, so that I have something to give. Help me love the people in front of me, especially the ones I find hard. Let people see You in how we treat each other. In Your name, amen.

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