“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)
Having announced His departure and insisted that His disciples could not come with Him, Jesus began to lay out what He expected of them after His leaving. Love is to serve as the distinguishing characteristic of Christ’s followers. The command to love was not new. OT, Deuteronomy 6:5 commanded love for God and OT, Leviticus 19:18 commanded loving one’s neighbor as oneself. However, Jesus command regarding love presented a distinctly new standard for two reasons: 1st.) it was sacrificial love modeled after His love (“as I have loved you”) and 2nd.) it is produced through the New Covenant by the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.
Dear friend, no one can love this way unless it is provided to them by the Highest power on earth, God’s Holy Spirit indwells the new believer’s in Christ. The work of the Holy Spirit is to transform us more and more into the image of Christ.
“Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. (vs.31) With Judas gone, the final events were set in place. Rather than looking at the angony of the cross, Jesus looked past the cross, anticipating the glory that He would have with the Father when it was over.
For the Christian in this life, the best is yet to come! For we too will one day be in glory with our Heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ suffering the cost and offering Himself for us, demonstrating His love, let us follow His example to love one another, like He has love us!
May the Lord bless your walk today!
