Read John 15:9-25: God wants to know if you will show that you are his friend by doing what he commands, which includes but is not limited to loving one. Are we going to be serious about following this command or not? Jesus commands his disciples and consequently us if we are his disciples to love one another and I don't know how well I do that. I don’t know how well the capital C church does that either.
How well do you love these different “one anothers”?
- How much do you love the “one anothers” at Zion? By coming to church you have chosen this group of people to be your “one anothers” at least for this Sunday. At least that is what it seems to means to be the church to love one another, to build up one another, to care for one another, to bear one another's burdens, etc. but is that why you come to church? Do you just to come to church to do your Christian duty or do you come to be “one anothers” with the people here, to love the people here, and to be loved by the people here? Do you come to love and be loved so that you can then go bear fruit for Jesus until we meet again?
- How much do you love the “one anothers” that are all the Christians in your town? By choosing to be a believer and to live where you live you are called to love the other believers in your town. Do you love them? Do you love the Catholics, the Lutherans, the Mennonites, the Pentecostals, the Evangelicals, the Baptists and whoever else is a Christian? I’m not saying do you know them; I’m asking do you love them?
- How about the world? Do you love the “one anothers” in this world, all believers everywhere?
Jesus is calling for unity in the Church so that we, all believers, can work together to remain in him to bear fruit. Christians, disciples of Jesus Christ are to be a group of people who live differently than the world by loving each other rather than to live like the world does.
Loving every “one anothers” is just the start because Jesus calls us to love the non-believers also. Although all the world may hate us, Jesus loves the world and we are to love like Jesus. Are you loving other believers and unbelievers well? Are you leading unbelievers to Jesus through your love?
