John 13:34 (NKJV)
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”
This new commandment could be summed up this way: Love one another like Jesus loves you. Jesus loved you proactively and He continues to love you unconditionally. Jesus loved you proactively by being willing to die for you. Jesus loves you unconditionally by presenting you before the Father as holy and blameless. This means you have right standing with God because of Jesus. Christ’s sacrificial death gives you right standing with God.
Right standing with God is so important because the fact that you are the righteousness of God in Christ is what guarantees God’s unconditional love for you. God loves you unconditionally because you’re the righteousness of God in Christ. This means that if you have really received God’s love personally, you will naturally express it in your relationships.
Jesus’ statement, “Love one another as I have loved you,” implies that you must first receive the forgiveness offered in Christ before you can extend that forgiveness to others. First, you must get to the point of believing that God has forgiven all your past, present, and future sins through the finished work of Christ. This means you must relate to God apart from your performance and instead relate to Him based on the perfection of Jesus. God has forgiven all your sins through the finished work of Christ. This means that if you have really received God’s forgiveness, you will naturally extend it in my relationships.
The phrase, “Love one another as I have loved you,” includes receiving God’s love first and sharing God’s love second. The love of Jesus includes forgiveness, and the outcome of forgiveness is receiving God’s love. Continue to follow Jesus by living the new commandment every day. Jesus gave us the attitude of the new commandment when He said, “Love one another as I have loved you.” This equates to receiving God’s love and sharing God’s love.
I talk more about how to receive God’s love and share God’s love in my CD series, The DNA of God. This CD set includes a Bonus CD that will transform the way you live! Click here to order