Love one another as I have loved you
In John’s Gospel (15: 12-17) today, Jesus commands us to ‘Love one another as I have loved you’. Fr Paul says this is the only time Jesus gives a command – not a request, not a hope, not a recommendation. Jesus explicitly commands us to love one another and goes on to give an explanation of what this love looks like.
Fr Paul tells us that Jesus is not describing a master-servant relationship but a friendship. Jesus asks us to love as friends should love – sharing everything with trust, openness and honesty.
Importantly, he also points out that the extent of Jesus’ love for us is boundless – there’s no greater love than to lay one’s life down for one’s friends.
In the context of Jesus calling us his friends, Fr Paul invites each of us to consider – How am I in my life fulfilling the command Jesus has given us, to love one another?
Thankyou Rev Gooley for sharing this wonderful passage with us.
It reminds me of the other passage where John explained the reason why we should love oneanother, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us we also ought to love one another (1 John 4:10-11, NIV).
I find it amazing that God would send Jesus to pay the penalty for my sin by dying on the cross, so that I can be forgiven. It’s the best love imaginable, and when we grasp it gives us every reason to love on another.
Thanks again for reminding us of God’s love.