(John 13:34) Anew command I give you: Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

Jesus made it clear that his disciples should love one another.  Did you ever wonder in the day-to-day interactions among fellow Christians, what it means to love one another?  Then I realized that Jesus told us the answer.  He said, “As I have loved you.”  So, I looked into how Jesus loved his disciples.

I found many examples of Jesus’ displays of love toward his disciples.  He taught them and drew them close to himself.  He corrected them, but never condemned them.  He prayed for them, fed them, and encouraged them.  He protected them and made their lives purposeful.  All these things are expressions of his love for them.  I could go on, but I think the most telling example might be what is recorded in John 13.

(John 13:3-5) Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.  After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

Jesus, who had all things under his power, took on the lowly place of a servant and washed his disciples’ feet.  The washing of feet was a part of their culture because they walked on dusty streets in sandals.  It was a great kindness to the recipient, but it was a lowly place to be the one washing.

Jesus was teaching a great lesson for us all.  To his disciple it was also an expression of love.  Jesus’ actions said to us that to love one another means that we should not count ourselves above serving one another. As I thought about this, I concluded that to love one another requires us to be humble.  From the other perspective, I asked myself, can a prideful person be loving to others? Well, I’ll leave you with these thoughts.

However, the truth stands before us because Jesus said, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”