“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35).

The Bible gives us 59 “one another” commands. Notice I didn’t say suggestions. These “one another’s” are stated in imperative form, which means they are not optional to a believer. We can’t even be choosy about who we love. Jesus told us we must even love our enemies (Matthew 5:44). Radical!  Therefore, it is essential for us to know what these commands are and how to obey.

Sixteen of the commands are some version of “love one another.”

• Five of these commands were stated by Jesus and recorded by John (John 13:34 (twice), 35; John 15:12; 17).
• Six were written by John in two of his letters (1 John 3:11, 23; 1 John 4:7,11,12; 2 John 5).
• In addition, Peter tells us to “love each other deeply, from the heart” (1 Peter 3:8) and once again ”to love each other deeply” (1 Peter 4:8).
• Paul tells the Romans to “love one another” (Romans 13:8)
• And Paul tells the Thessalonians to “make your love increase and overflow for each other” (1 Thessalonians 3:12) and to “love each other” (1 Thessalonians 4:9). 

1 John 4:8 tells us that “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” Since God is love, then when we love one another we are doing what we can to be the hands and feet of God in whatever the circumstance. This is a powerful charge He has given to us, and one that is impossible to carry out fully and consistently without the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. And truly, loving one another is our most effective testimony. “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35).

It just seems like there is so much discord and hate right now in our world. I’m sure that there have been times in history to rival these—times of war and strife—but without question it is bad right now. We experience different approaches to dealing with the discord and hate, from ignoring it hoping it will go away to being on the forefront of the fight, and everything in between. Many of us are trying to learn and understand what the causes are and what the solutions might be. Many of us are trying to understand our own role in the problem and our own role in the solution.

In the Women’s Campus Bible Study, we are studying the book of Esther, and Mordecai’s response to her in Esther 4:14 “you have come to your position for such a time as this” probably rings true for many of us. But what can we do? I know that many intelligent and compassionate and passionate people have given their lives to this question. I don’t have all the answers, or hardly any. But I know we cannot go wrong by remembering what the Bible has to say about love in action. We can’t interact with one other in truly healthy ways without loving each other. And we can’t love each other without always being proactive to reach out, walk with, encourage, protect, and support our fellow man. It takes bearing with one another and standing up for one another.

For example, the Good Samaritan went out of his way to rescue the Jewish traveler who was robbed and beaten by thieves. A Priest and a Levite had already passed by. You might not think the Priest and Levite were bad people. After all, they didn’t beat or rob the traveler. They just didn’t want to get involved. Maybe they had reasons—maybe they were late for a church meeting, or maybe they forgot their money belt, so they didn’t have a way to help. Maybe they feared stopping thinking the robbers might return. Whatever the reason, they hurriedly passed on by, leaving the traveler where he lay.

Jesus told this parable to answer the question of who to love. The Jewish leaders had challenged Jesus to identify the greatest commandment, and Jesus, in Matthew 22:37-39 quoted from Deuteronomy 6:5 to tell them that loving God was the greatest commandment, but the close second (from Leviticus 19:18) was to love your neighbor as yourself. The leaders then wanted an exact definition of “neighbor.” So, by telling this parable, Jesus explained that “who to love” is anyone we come in proximity with, regardless of whether they are in our circle of family and friends. In fact, Jesus made a point of using an example of people who were not family and friends because they were from ethnically different with a history of animosity toward each other.

However, I propose that this story also tells us how to love. The Good Samaritan went out of his way to see to this injured stranger; he cared for this stranger with all diligence and urgency, just like he would have cared for his own family, and just like he would have wanted to be cared for himself.

Jesus himself was our role model for how to love. He loved with humility and compassion. He was accessible. His words were healing, they were edifying, full of truth and grace.

As a Mission employee, you have taken the proactive step of loving your neighbor by serving the people who seek the ministries of Nashville Rescue Mission. While there will always be room for improvement, I believe we are like-minded in our pursuit of the mission of the Mission: “Providing hope for today, hope for tomorrow, and hope for eternity to the hungry, hurting, and homeless” by loving our neighbors, especially those who are destitute, poor, and needy.

In the weeks to come, we will look at some of the other “one another” commands, but in a way, every other “one another” command is derived from Jesus’ basic command: “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” It’s as simple, and as life-changing, as that.

In Christ,

Judy