November 2, 2020 (Monday)
And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. (Luke 10:25-28)
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. (John 13:34)
Then He said, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35).
How will people know that we are Christians? They will know us by our love for one another. “One another” means other people, not just other Christians. If you hate others, you are denying your faith.
Keep in mind that Jesus gave this commandment to His disciples to express to them and us His heart’s desire for His people. These words were among his last words before His crucifixion, which would take place within hours. Surely we can see how important this is to our Lord.
Within hours, Peter would draw his sword and strike an arresting soldier only to be reprimanded by Jesus: “Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?” (John 18:11).
You are in Christ and Christ is in you. What a privilege to share Him with others.
“But I promise you if you are angry with someone, you will have to stand trial. If you call someone a fool, you will be taken to court. And if you say that someone is worthless, you will be in danger of the fires of hell” (Matthew 5:22 CEV – Contemporary English Version).
