Along the way I’ve discovered that following Jesus’ command in John 13:34, “You must love each other as I have loved you,” is an enormous challenge. The love Jesus showed while on this earth was not the type of love promoted by this world—a lazy, easy-come-easy-go kind of love; instead, this God-love is the type of love that requires me to be a servant, challenging me to view love differently—as uncompromising, unrelenting, unwearied, unshakable, and unselfish.
When I consider what love should look like, I use two reference points: The perfect life of Christ and the picture of love painted by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 13. These pictures of love challenge me to put my love into action and to allow God’s perfect love to guide my every step.
These pictures of love are a call to action, a call to put others first, to be on their side—to be their cheerleader. It calls me to set aside my biases, my pride, my anger, my frustration—myself—and to focus instead on the other person and their needs. It calls me to be relentless in my pursuit of their wellbeing.
Looking at these requirements for love, I could easily be overwhelmed by the enormity of this command from Jesus, but, thankfully, God never leaves me alone. When He asks me to do something, He also shows me the way to follow through with that command.
As Jesus promised in John 16:7, He sends us the Holy Spirit to guide us in truth. And the truth is that we cannot follow this command, or any God-given command, of our own strength. Of ourselves, we are incapable of showing this kind of love; however, God has promised to transform us: “…Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect” Romans 12:2 (NLT).
So join me as I ask God to transform the way I think and the way I live so that everyone will know that I am a disciple of Christ.
Final Thought: On my own I am weak, but with the power of God living in me I can do all things.
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