Love One Another

Jesus explained many different things to His disciple at the Last Supper, prior to His sacrifice on the cross. The Apostle John records one of those commands.

(Jn 13:34) A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

The Old Testament commanded in Lev 19:18 to “love your neighbor as yourself.” With Jesus' command, we now have a picture of what that love needs to look like. It needs to be just as real and as sacrificial as Jesus' love for us. This deep, real, humble, transparent, self-sacrificing love is supposed to be the hallmark of a Christian.

In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul also explains how important it is to love one another. From the Message Bible it reads:

If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love. (1Co 13:1-3 The Message)

Not only is love supposed to be the hallmark of Christians, Paul makes it very clear that we cannot accomplish anything worthwhile without love. Let that sink in.

• Do you know your Bible really well and can quote many passages from memory? Without it being done in love, all the work you put into knowing God's Word is worthless.
• Are you a talented speaker or teacher? If your teaching does not come from a heart of love, your message will simply be background static.
• Do you have incredible faith? Paul says that without love, that faith amounts to nothing.
• Do you sacrifice time or money for the church or the poor? If your motive is something other than love you have accomplished nothing.

OUCH! That certainly challenges me!

One of the best ways to learn and live out that kind of love is in a small group. That's exactly what Jesus had with His disciples. A group of 6 to 12 people works well. The purpose of the small group goes way beyond the topic you are studying. It is about living out your Christianity in a group. God wants to bond your small group together in love. He wants it to be a fun place to be. A place where you can celebrate and relax together. A place where His love is evident to all.

He wants you to feel so safe in your group that you can share your deepest hurts and your greatest failures. I have been in groups where people shared that they were still struggling with gambling, alcoholism, and homosexual temptations. I have been in groups where acceptance and love opened doors for healing of these things and many more. I suffer from clinical depression. My Monday morning small group helps me to stay connected to God's love and His truth. When I need help, I can send out an email and have several people praying for me. IT WORKS!

The small group is a place where we can learn how to love as Jesus loved. As we experience Jesus' love in our small group, it will become so much easier to share His love with others. You will be excited to bring other people into your group. Then they will experience that love of Jesus.

At 19 I was an atheist. I verbally persecuted Christians. God worked out many things in order to get me to a small group meeting. I had never seen love like that – unconditional and not self-serving. That experience brought me back. 27 years later I am still excited about small groups – and I am definitely no longer an atheist!

If you are not in a small group, I encourage you to participate in one. I can probably connect you to an online group if there is no other option. If you are in a small group that is not what it is supposed to be – start making a difference in your group by demonstrating sacrificial and unconditional love for the other members.

I'd love to hear other positive small group stories.