It is important to have friends. It is important that they love one another. We are blessed to have friends that understand that. My prayer is that I am to them, the same kind of friend. After all, I need to do what I’m told…In the book of John, Jesus tells us very directly what is expected of us.
John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
He doesn’t offer it up as a suggestion, or a good idea, he commands it. He also tells us what it should look like, the degree to which we should love.
John 13:35 By this shall all know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
A couple of chapters later, He again makes very clear that we, as Christians, are commanded to love one another. This is the chapter concerning the vine, and abiding in Him.
John 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. John 15:17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.
The Apostle John understood this. He reminded us of this several times in the books of 1st & 2nd John.
1John 3:11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
1John 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
1John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
1John 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
1John 4:12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
2John 1:5 And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.
If it was important to John, if it was important to Jesus Christ, then it should be of extreme importance to us. I thank God that we have friends that it is important to. They aren’t following Christ’s commandment just so, that like in John 13:35, they will be seen as Christians, (while that is important, it is important only for the proper reason, that people will see Christ in them) they are following Christ’s commandment because they are Christians.
