A Disciple Loves Fellow Believers – Abide in the Vine

It was a wimpy understanding, former procrastinators.  A scripture portion I learned as a child was “Love one another.”  For many years I thought that meant “be nice to everybody.”  There’s so much more.  Jesus used these three words to describe His disciples.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”  John 13:34-35

This is a much taller order than my childish understanding to be nice.  This is hard and gritty.

First, Jesus says right off He’s commanding we love.  It’s a requirement we obey, not a feeling,  not optional.  But what is love?  My friend Ana uses a helpful definition: “Love is a costly act of concern for another.” Love often involves affection; however, it doesn’t have to.  It’s action on behalf of another.

He tells us whom to love – fellow believers.  This is the context of His command.  He found it necessary to instruct those who followed Him to love each other.  Evidently, He knew it would not always be easy to love the other people who loved Him.  And He doesn’t say “like.”  We can love without liking – but liking often follows love.

He tells us how to love – the same way He loved them.  These folks did not know Jesus would die a horrid death for them on a cross.  But Jesus knew.  He knew we sheep coming after would realize that to love means to sacrifice ourselves for fellow believers.  We would need to give time, energy, effort, thought, prayer, belongings, money, all when it’s inconvenient – and perhaps our lives.  He knew it would hurt to love and to learn to love.

He tells us why we must love.  We in the body will benefit, but there’s more.  Jesus says those who don’t know Him will see this extraordinary every day love among His believers and they will know we are His disciples.  His.  Not followers of any other god.  They will see Him in us.  That is amazing.  No wonder there is so much instruction in scripture about how we are to live in relation to each other.  He has given us abundant privilege to enjoy and great responsibility He enables us to fulfill.

What about our bent to procrastinate loving the hard-to-love?  I John addresses this often. “Whoever says he is in the light but hates his brother is in the darkness.  Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling.”  (2:9-10)  If I don’t love, am I cause for stumbling?  Am I not also among the hard-to-love?  We must not fool ourselves by claiming to walk in the light – in the ways of Christ – yet fail to love a fellow believer in Christ who died for him or her.

What costly act of concern can you show a hard-to-love brother or sister?