This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
-1 John 4:10–12
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. –John 13:34
The word “Maundy” comes from the Latin “mandatum,” meaning commandment, a reference to the new “love” commandment Jesus gave to his disciples: “Love one another.”
We love because God first loved us. We didn’t first love God, search him out, and discover that he loved us, too. No, long before we had any interest in him, he had his eye on us and loved us with everlasting love.
From the beginning until today, God’s love was and is based upon his character, not ours. John says that since this is true, we ought to love one another even if “they” aren’t so warm and fuzzy.
Jesus’ new commandment is intended for the disciples’ welfare and for them to enjoy lives of meaning and purpose. In his ministry, he gives us a model of true, sacrificial love and how we are to love others. He wants us to know that if we live in and with his love (and his help), we’ll be fulfilled in ways we couldn’t even imagine.
Instead of bitterness and resentment, sacrificial love for one another shows the world that something real is happening in believers’ lives. People know that others aren’t always easy to love, and they treat them just as they deserve. “They really had it coming” is the standard justification for one’s actions.
So when a Christian does something astounding to show love to the unlovely, it gets attention and honors God. These caring gestures are the principal way people learn that God is gracious and his people have something you can’t find anywhere else. They know the unusual occurs when they see us patiently caring for one another.
It wasn’t the church’s doctrines that first gained the attention of the Roman world, but the love found among the Christians—not just for one another, but for others as well. The first Christians loved even the ones who mistreated and persecuted them.
Jesus’ command to love isn’t optional. It’s not something to fill in time while waiting for our situation to change—it’s the central requirement and a primary identifying characteristic of the real church. With it, our lives will make a lasting impact; without it, nothing else we do will make the slightest difference.
With love, God’s love is made complete in us. So when praying, let’s ask for the impossible: real, tangible, measurable love for one another.
Today’s Prayer
Father, I cannot love the way you want me to love unless you grant me the power to do so. Fill me with your Spirit and power daily for the rest of my life. I pray in the name of Jesus, who loved us first, Amen.
Today’s Commitment
Today, I let go of any anger or bitterness and commit to love by…
- Good Friday: What’s Good About It? - April 19, 2025
- Maundy Thursday: This Is Love - April 17, 2025
- Give Up Yer Aul Sins — A Story About St. Patrick - March 14, 2025
