31/10/2024
Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before. Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining. (1 John 2:7-8 NLT)
LOVE IS A COMMAND.
The commandment to love one another is both old and new. For the Jews, the command to love others was as old as the Pentateuch (Leviticus 19:18), and as new as Jesus’ words (John 13:34). Thus, John knew that he was not writing a new commandment because it is an old one you have always had. However, Jesus called the commandment “new” because he interpreted it in a radically new way. The newness of Jesus’ command focused on the practice of love. In the Christian church, love is not only expressed by showing respect; it is also expressed through self-sacrifice and servanthood (John 15:13). In fact, it can be defined as “selfless giving,” reaching beyond friends to enemies and persecutors (Matthew 5:43-48). Love should be the unifying force and the identifying mark of the Christian community. Love is the key to walking in the light, because we cannot grow spiritually while we hate others. Our growing relationship with God will result in growing relationships with others.
Yet, this commandment to love is also new, because the new commandment to love departs from the old characteristics of the law with its emphasis on outward conformity to certain regulations. The commandment to love one another is true in Christ and is true among the believers. The command to love first reached its truest and fullest expression in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. He demonstrated true love by coming into the world and giving his life for all who believe. Thus the command should also be true in you—that is, in all who claim to follow Christ. Although the true light is already shining and the darkness has not passed away completely, the darkness is disappearing slowly but surely. Thanks to the victory of Christ, the outcome of the conflict between light and darkness is a foregone conclusion. The conflict continues, however. But like the first rays of sun at dawn slowly but steadily piercing the darkness, so the true light experienced and shared by Christians is growing.
LOVE IS A CHOICE.
Does this mean that if you dislike someone you aren’t a Christian? These verses are not talking about disliking a disagreeable Christian brother or sister. There will always be people we will not like as well as others. John’s words focus on the attitude that causes us to ignore or despise others, to treat them as irritants, competitors, or enemies. Christian love is not a feeling, but a choice. We can choose to be concerned with people’s well-being and treat them with respect, whether or not we feel affection toward them. If we choose to love others, God will help us express our love.
