Do we really love as Jesus wants us to?

A NEW COMMANDMENT

Jn. 13:31-33, 34-35

On the night before He died, Jesus said to His disciples, "Love one another."  That was the centrepiece of His final instructions.  It is not surprising that He should end on that note.  This had been the theme of His teaching from the beginning.  In word and deed, He had presented love as the true way of living.  One would surely expect Him to say it again in that final meeting.  It is, however, a bit surprising that He should call it "a new commandment".  In the book of Leviticus, it was written, "You shall love your neighbour as yourself."  For countless generations, His ancestors had read and recited that sacred mandate.  In what sense then, could "Love one another" be considered a new commandment?

The answer to that question is to be found in the sentence that follows.  Jesus said, "You must love one another as I have loved you."  Therein lies the newness of this commandment.  For centuries, it had been merely words on a page, highly significant words to be sure, but words just the same.  It was an idea, an ideal.  Now, in and through one Man, it had become flesh and blood.  Jesus was love incarnate.  His whole existence was the most complete expression of love that the world had ever seen.  By the sheer majesty of His life, He took a very old commandment and gave it a brand-new meaning.

It is new in terms of whom we are to love.  The old commandment required the loving of one's neighbour.  But it left open the question of who was included in that word neighbour.  You will recall that a scribe once asked Jesus, "Who is my neighbour?"  The Gospel writer explained that the reason behind the question was "because he wished to justify himself."  In other words, he wanted to obey the law of God, without giving up racial prejudice.  He could accomplish that purpose by giving the word "neighbour" a restricted meaning.  If it applied only to members of his own race, he had no obligation to love anyone outside the Jewish community.

That approach had the effect of rendering the law of love virtually meaningless.  With skilful manipulation, a person could keep this commandment with little or no effort.  But the life and teachings of Jesus closed that door of escape forever.  His love was without limits.  It went beyond the established borders of race and religion, class and culture, family and friends.  It included a Roman soldier and a Jewish zealot, a wealthy young man and an impoverished widow, a corrupt tax collector who happened to be a Jew, and a good man who happened to be a Samaritan.  The most incredible thing of all was that His love crossed that ultimate and final boundary, to include even His enemies.

No one had ever thought and lived like that in the history of the world.  His kind of love was so far outside the norms of human behaviour that it did not seem real.  But it found lodging in a few hearts and began to spread.  Within a generation after His death, chasms of separation were being bridged all over the Roman Empire.  People of every nation, class, and culture were coming together in a fellowship of faith.  Paul captured the spirit of the movement, when he wrote, "There does not exist among you Jew or Greek, slave or freeman, male or female.  All are one in Christ Jesus." (Gal.3:28).  This was the effect of the new commandment that Jesus gave to His disciples.  Everyone was included.  No one was left out.  It is new in terms of whom we are to love.

It is also new in terms of how we are to love.  "Love one another as I have loved you."  That requires something much more than mere sentiment.  Call to memory some of the ways that Jesus showed His love for people.  At times, it was with little, thoughtful acts of kindness.  He commended a poor widow for the generosity of her gift.  He provided the wine that prevented a wedding celebration from ending in embarrassment.  He took time out of a busy day to focus His full attention on a few children.  He kept the ugly secret of Judas, and thereby protected him from the scorn of the other disciples.

Most of us would be more than willing to show our love in large and spectacular ways.  We would endow a hospital for crippled children, if we had the money.  We would put an end to the horrors of war, if we had the power.  We would provide a loving friend for every lonely person on earth, if we only knew how to do it.  But while we dream of the great opportunities, life passes and the little deeds of love go undone.  We deceive ourselves.  Life is made up mostly of little things.  If we added up the sum of happiness on any given day, we will find that it was composed of kind words, warm smiles, and common courtesies.  Jesus was loved in small ways.  "As My love has been, so must your love be."

He also loved sacrificially.  His first thought was never for himself.  It was always for the needs of others.  One of the most profound truths ever spoken about Jesus came from His enemies.  When He was dying on the cross, they mocked Him saying, "He saved others, but He cannot save Himself."  That is the very essence of what it means to love.  It is no less true of us than it was of Him.   True love does not save itself.  It sacrifices itself for the sake of others.

That truth was beautifully demonstrated by a young man I knew.   His mother was dying, because her liver was not working properly.   She had to have a transplant in order to live.  When no donor was available, her son volunteered.  Doctors took his liver and transplanted it into his mother.  The mother lived just one week after the operation.  Before the operation, the son was asked if he had any misgivings about it all.  His reply was, "When you have already given someone your whole heart, a little piece of you is no big deal."  It is the nature of love to sacrifice itself for the sake of others.  Jesus did that in a way that made an old commandment brand new.

Jesus took the commandment, "Love your neighbour as yourself", to a higher level.  He loved inclusively and sacrificially, because He knew this to be the way God loves.  We are to love everybody, because God loves everybody.  We are to love people who are unlovable, because God loves us when we are unlovable.  We are to love our enemies, because God loves His enemies.

Lord Jesus, if that conviction ever grips our hearts, as it gripped Yours, it will enable us to keep Your new commandment, "Love one another as I have loved you."

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