Of All the Ways

“Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.”   John 13:34-35

Of all the ways God could have given for us to be recognized as His disciples, who would have thought it would be loving each other. From the time Lucifer was kicked out of heaven, his intent was to spread his pride, arrogance, jealousy, covetousness, envy, anger and hate. And who better to attack than the who God loved so dearly, His beloved creation, mankind.

And attack he did, so much so that in Job 1:6 his name is changed to Hasatan, which means adversary, opponent, accuser and is where we get the English name Satan. He is a divider, a sower of discord, anything to keep mankind from loving one another as God always intended us to. Only Jesus could not only show us the love God always planned for us but provide the way for us to live it out.

Jesus, tells those who believe in Him and want to follow in His ways, must love others as He has loved us. He was willing to become sin itself, hang on a cursed tree, be separated from His Father, die and be buried for three days before rising. He did all that to show His everlasting love for us. And those who accept His Salvation and forgiveness of sin receive His holy Spirit so we too can love like Him. Now we may not have to give our physical lives, but we do have to die to things like selfishness, pride, arrogance, jealousy, anger and hatred just to name a few. Now the question is, are we willing to die to those things so the we can love one another with the most excellent kind of love, the love of Jesus Christ.