ESOCS Devotional 22 July 2021
TEXT: JOHN 13:31-38
MEMORY VERSE: “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 KJV).
To love others is not a new commandment (Leviticus 19:18), but to love others the Christ’s way is revolutionary (new). That is the new commandment Christ talked about in our memory verse. We are to love others based on Jesus’ sacrificial love for us. Jesus is a living example of God’s love, so we should be living examples of Jesus’ love.
The new commandment on love says that love is more than simply warm feelings; it is an attitude that reveals itself in action. For example, it is by helping when it is not convenient, by giving when it hurts, by devoting energy to others’ welfare rather than our own, by absorbing hurts from others without complaining or fighting back, by strengthening the weak brethren through counselling, teaching, and praying together, etc. To love this way is hard. That is why people will notice when you do it. They will also know that you are empowered by a supernatural power. The instruction in Matthew 7:12 (“the golden rule”), and in Luke 6:31 (“rules of kingdom life”), sums it all – Do to others the way you want them to do to you. It is called “law of social order” in Leviticus 19. Do people see backbiting, gossiping, envy, division, hatred, eye-service, class distinction, tribalism, intolerance, etc. in you, your church, branch or local assembly? If yes, it is anti-the new commandment on Love that Christ taught, and it is sin!
Loving the Christ way brings unbelievers to Christ. It keeps the brethren strong and united in a world hostile to living examples of Jesus’ love. How we should love is expanded; that is why Christ said it is a new commandment, so, revolutionary. It is the Perfect Way to love. Embrace it now.
- Identify the human, religious, and environmental factors hindering your loving the Christ way.
- Pray against the identified factors. Ask God for the spirit to love the Christ way.
Read Other ESOCS Devotional here
FURTHER READING: Luke 10:25-37; 1 Corinthians 13
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ESOCS Devotional 22 July 2021
