“If you love me you will
keep my commandments.” In the Gospel of John there is only one commandment and
while we have come to think it goes without saying Jesus calls it new. “A new
commandment I give you. Love one another. As I have loved you so you must love
one another." (John 13:34) The Gospel of John doesn't talk very much about loving enemies and his “no
greater love than this” is stated as a benefit for friends. (John 15:3) That is
not to say enemies are left out of the loving loop only that in the Gospel of
John “love another” (aka people you know) comes first if for no other reason but the sorry history of the church not
loving people who sit nearby aka in the next pew. How can the world be loved by
church people if church people don’t love each other? That is not to say
secular human organizations don’t exhibit discord within their ranks just that
the church was founded on the principle of mutual love and affection. So keeping
the commandments of Christ begins with making the commandment called “new” an
everyday ordinary experience. If you love one another you might actually love
me (Jesus) or if you love me (Jesus) you have no option but to love one
another. It’s the chicken or the egg quandary. You cannot have one without the
other no matter which comes first.
No comments:
Post a Comment