It was the sweetest thing. A YouTube video showed two toddlers, probably three or four years old, running down a sidewalk. Their arms were wide open, and they giggled with excitement to greet one another. You’d have thought they’d not seen each other for months. The video caption said, “They just played together earlier in the week.” The kids embraced and hugged multiple times, and I thought, Why can’t we all love one another like that?
My cousin posted a photo of her hand holding her mother’s. It was especially sweet, knowing that her mother changed addresses just minutes later. And I thought, Why can’t we all love one another like that?
John shared Jesus’ command to love at least four times throughout his gospel, and every time, the emphasis was to love others as He loved. John certainly saw the many sides of grace within this command as well—both as Jesus practiced love and later as John and the other disciples learned to extend this.
Jesus taught them that love is truly a cornerstone of obedience. No one expressed this better than Christ, whether He walked with the disciples, dined with the sinners, healed the sick, or took in the joy of children. Still, John quotes Jesus by repeating the word “new.” Jesus echoed the Scripture from the old and reminded us that what He was sharing was kainen, or a new, refreshed, renewed commandment for love.
If we could love like those giggling toddlers or as my cousin loved her dying mother. If we could close our eyes to the hard side of others and genuinely show love. Imagine laying aside our preconceived notions about the homeless man on the street and seeing him as Christ would. What a better place our world would be.
Love isn’t always easy. There are always those deemed unloveable, but Christ looks at what we could be and loves us into change. Love is hard, but when given freely, it bounces back and hits us with a rush of joy.
Love new Be refreshed and renewed in Christ. A new command He gives us. Love as He loved us. If only we would love like Jesus.
Cindy K. Sproles is a best-selling, award-winning author. She is a speaker and a conference teacher who teaches nationwide. Cindy is the cofounder of Christian Devotions Ministries, www.christiandevotions.us, and www.inspireafire.com. She serves as a writing mentor with WRAMS (Writing Write Author Mentoring Service) and is the director of the Asheville Christian Writers Conference. Visit Cindy at www.cindysproles.com.