“I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another.” John 13:34 HCSB
The type of love that is being talked about in this verse is agape love which is unconditional, sacrificial love. I love my wife and children with a love that is unconditional and sacrificial. I would be willing to do anything for them, even die for them. On the other hand, there are many people for whom I care and may even admire, but I do not love them with the same type of love that Jesus has for them.
Just a few hours after Jesus spoke these words, He would pay the ultimate sacrifice and express His unconditional love for us by dying on the cross for our sins. We are sinners and do not deserve His love. Yet, He tells His disciples and ultimately us, that we are to love like He loves. We are to love one another with unconditional, sacrificial love. Although easier said that done, it is what Jesus calls us to do.
Challenge: Is there someone you encounter on a regular basis that you find hard to love in any manner, much less with unconditional, sacrificial love? Look for a way to love that person in the same way that Jesus loves him.