A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
—John 13:34
It is not the command of a law that convinces us of sin and weakness; it is a new command under a new covenant that is established upon better promises. It is the command of Him who asks nothing that He has not provided, and now offers to bestow. He says, “As I have loved you, even so, love one another. The measure, the strength, and the work of your love will be found in My love for you.”
“As I have loved you”—these words give us the measure of the love with which we must love each other. He who desires to be like Christ must unhesitatingly accept this as his rule of life. He knows how difficult, how impossible, it often is to love people. Before going out to meet them in circumstances where his love may be tried, he goes in secret to the Lord. With his eyes fixed on his own sin and unworthiness, he asks how much he owes his Lord. He goes to the cross and seeks to fathom the love with which the Lord has loved him.
Christ Jesus longs for you in order to make you a very fountain of love. As conformity to the Lord Jesus must be the chief mark of your Christian walk, so love must be the chief mark of that conformity. Do not be disheartened if you do not attain it at once. Take time in secret to gaze on that image of love. Take time in prayer and meditation to fan the desire for it into a burning flame. Take time to survey all around you, whoever they may be, and whatever may happen, with this one thought, “I must love them.” Christian, take time in loving communion with Jesus, your loving example, and you will joyfully fulfill this command, too, to love as He did.