2Jn 1:5 And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another.
2Jn 1:6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.
Introduction (1 Jn 4: 8)
This piece of scripture has a nice almost cosy feel to it doesn’t it? It has a warm, friendly tone where the writer appears to be reminding the recipient of our duty to love one another. He then goes on to explain how we can achieve this, through obeying Gods commands.
That wasn’t too difficult was it? But let’s have a look about what John says about love in his first letter.
1Jn 4:8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
Now that cuts right to the bone doesn’t it. There is no evidence of warmth here or a gentle reminder. This is an out and out warning against the folly of not loving one another. That by not loving one another we are moving further from the light of God and into the darkness.
Gods Command (Lev 19:15-18)
From the very beginning when God provided the law for his people he has placed love for one another at the heart of his law.
Lev 19:15 “'Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favouritism to the great, but judge your neighbour fairly.
Lev 19:16 “'Do not go about spreading slander among your people. "'Do not do anything that endangers your neighbour’s life. I am the Lord.
Lev 19:17 “'Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbour frankly so you will not share in his guilt.
Lev 19:18 Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbour as yourself. I am the Lord.
When God created the law he did so for the benefit of his people. That they may have instruction and rules to live by that would bring his people closer to him. To place such a provision and emphasis for love in the law shows how important our love for one another is to God. How it is bound to his law and in bringing us closer to him.
Ok we get the message, but unfortunately all too often we don’t. I believe that one of the main reasons why God places such emphasis in the law on loving one another is because he knows that all too often we fail miserably at carrying it out. Ask yourself this question, do you think of love for one another as an emotion or a command? In my better moments I would answer that I know that it is a command from God set out in his law but all too often I can let my emotions over rule my heart. God knows that we have difficulty with our love for one another. When we think of love all too often we think that it is something that we should hand out to only those who deserve our love, how arrogant is that.
Let’s be honest at times all it takes is for someone to look at us in the wrong way or say something that rubs us up the wrong way for us to take an instant dislike to them and thoughts of loving one another are the further things from our mind, how petty is that. That is how easy we can find it to dismiss one of the main building blocks in our pursuit of knowing our father and why he has placed such a large provision for loving one another in his law.
Jesus Command (Joh 13: 34-35)
Joh 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
Joh 13:35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
This scripture seems to be in contradiction with the scripture of John. Both scriptures are telling us to love one another. Here Jesus is giving what appears to be a new command and when we fast forward John is telling us that it is not a new command, that it is a command that we have know from the beginning.
Reinforcement, Not A New Command
When we looked at this command in Leviticus we did so under the authority of the Old Testament, the old covenant. With the arrival of Jesus on the earth we entered a new phase of our relationship with God through the life and death of his son, a new covenant where the son embodies the law.
There is new and there is new in the sense of if I were to go to the shops and by a new pair of trainers they would be new to me but they wouldn’t actually be new. The only really new trainers existed when the person who came up with the idea of the trainer made the first pair. All other trainers that came after the first pair were copies or improvements of the original.
This applies to the new command that Jesus gives us concerning our love for one another. This command is directed at the disciples so that the world would come to know them by the love that they had for one another and that they were followers of Jesus.
When God first set out the command for us to love one another he did so through the words that he told Moses to speak. Under the new covenant these words became flesh in the form of Jesus and the same command was given but this time we can see this command carried out in perfection in the way that Jesus lived and died for all.
A Command Not Limited to the “Family” (Lev 19:34)
This command to love one another is not just a command limited to those in the family of God. It’s far, far bigger than that.
Lev 19:34 The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
God expects and commands of us to love every one. If there were exceptions to this command God would have made it clear to us. God expects us to treat those not in the family, aliens exactly the same way that we would family members or rather our brothers and sisters in Christ.
When we go back to look at the command that Jesus gave to the disciples it doesn’t say anything about loving those not in the family. It is a direct command to the disciples to love one another. Does this mean that the law set out in Leviticus is not longer relevant? Hardly, Jesus commands the disciples to love one another as he loved. Jesus love was a perfect love for all. By obeying his command to love others as he love them we are or rather shouldn’t be left in any doubt that this is a love for all and not just a select few.
Obeying This Command Leads to Obedience of Other Commands (Rom 13:9-10)
How far up your list of obeying commands from God does to love one another come. Is it somewhere near the top, nestled in the middle or dead last?
Rom 13:9 The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbour as yourself."
Rom 13:10 Love does no harm to its neighbour. Therefore love is the fulfilment of the law.
By putting this commandment as a priority the natural result is that we will not be in any real danger of breaking any other of Gods laws or commands. If you have love for one another and by that I mean in the way that God expects us to have love for one another you will not be tempted to commit adultery or to steal or to covet because a true love for one another would make breaking these commands and laws impossible and obedience to them a natural behaviour.
Consequences of Failing to Obey This Command (Ob 1, 1 Jn 4: 8)
Earlier we heard about Gods judgement of Edom and its fate.
Edom was a mountain fortress whose people felt safe and secure in their stronghold. They felt that they were invincible and took pride in their city.
So what did they do to deserve this judgement that God passes down on them? What did they do to warrant their city being brought down around them? To have all of their wise men destroyed, to have their city ransacked and their treasures pillaged and to have its people slaughtered.
They did nothing. They stood aside and watched as Jacob their brother was being attacked and did not come to his aid. They showed no love for their brother but rather took delight in his misfortunes, only interested in how their brother’s plight might benefit them. By showing no love for their brother they incurred Gods wrath and were judged accordingly.
Jesus Life Embodies This Command
Think on this for a moment, who did Jesus shower his love on. Was it only for those who followed him? Was it only on those who proclaimed the word of God? No, Jesus showered his love on all. This included people that society and even the church turned their noses up at, sinners one and all, thieves, prostitutes, lepers, adulteresses, tax collectors, peasants and the list goes on. Jesus loved all because it came natural to him. Jesus loved all because he way obeying his fathers command. Jesus loved all because he was God in flesh. Jesus loved all because God is love.