Bonus Weekend Advent Devotional

The Simple Command
Read I John 4:7 -21
 
One simple command Jesus gives to his followers is the “new command.”  This command is not just for the twelve disciples, but it carries over to us today.

In the 15 verses you read today, John tells his readers to love one another three times.  Do you think he is trying to say something important?  Do you think maybe, just maybe, he is trying to stress the importance of believers loving one another?  The answer is yes! 

Christians are commanded to love one another and we are only able to love one another because of God’s Spirit in us.  We are able to love because God displayed His love to us by sending Jesus Christ to be our redeemer.  We are able to love fearlessly because God’s perfect love removes all fear and doubt and gives us joy and confidence.  Our ability to truly love cannot exist outside of God.  Any love apart from God is a false love.

Jesus spoke of loving one another as one of the two great commandments for all believers to keep.  The word for love in the Greek is “agapeo,” which means to love dearly, to be fond of, to be well pleased, and be contented at or with a thing.  This love does not refer to the emotional feeling one gets when he is around someone he is attracted to, it is much deeper.
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Believers are called to be fond of one another.  We are to have great pleasure and satisfaction in being with those we consider our spiritual family.  I have heard people say, “I know Jesus said I have to love fellow believers, but that doesn’t mean I have to like them.”  I believe the translation of this word agapeo does in fact does mean that we not only love one another, but we must like one another as well.