Love One Another

“This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

John 15:12-13

I am pretty sure we have all heard this before: love one another as I have loved you. Sometimes it may sound cliché and becomes just one of the many popular sayings. But today I want to invite you to really take a closer look at that phrase. Not only is it a phrase, it’s Jesus’ words. Close your eyes and imagine Jesus saying it to you: love one another. What does it mean to love?

Not simply complimenting someone or buying gifts for people. To love really means to will the good of the other. To love means to want their good, even if it means it will cost you somehow.  Hence we are told there is “no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friend.” Not just friends, but enemies too. To truly love is to love without distinction, without separation, without counting the cost. To love is to truly put others first. Can we do that? The answer is no.  We can’t do that on our own, but we can if we let Jesus in and let Him love through us. 

So, today I invite you to spend some time in the silence meditating and praying with those words of Jesus: “Love one another.” Reflect on how you love and invite Jesus in to now love through you.