John 15, love each other.

‘¹²This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. ¹⁷This is my command: Love each other. John 15:12,17

I’ve heard that if something is repeated in Scripture, we need to pay close attention to those verses. In John 15, Christ gives us a commandment that demands our attention.

Love Each Other

Why is this so hard for me? To love as Christ loves us is a daily challenge. Some people are easy to love; those authentic Christians that I have met are easy to love. I hope I’m easy to love.

Sometimes it’s a struggle to love people; being an authentic Christian means loving each other, even those who hate Christ, who hate us. But we are commanded to love those who hate us. Maybe it’s being quick to forgive the person who cuts us off in traffic or reaching out to a family member or friend that we don’t always agree with.

Loving our enemy is where the cross meets the road

But I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Pray for those who persecute you!
Matthew 5:44

As a redneck who grew up poor, I find my first instinct is to fight. I want to follow Jesus; I need to give up my own way. I need to be overfilled, saturated with God’s love so much that it spills out onto others.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.
Matthew 16:24

We need to be reminded that our enemy isn’t the people that hate us, it’s the unseen dark forces that rule this dark, corrupt world.

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:12

Dear Heavenly Father, help us to love each other. Help us to be easy to love. Help us share your love with others. Help us to remain in Christ today, overflow us with your love. Protect, keep us from evil. In Jesus name, Amen.