“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13:34-35)

With Jesus’ joy and love, I welcome you to February. Our theme for the month is “Love one another”. We are now one month into 2024, and the Holy Spirit has called us to get on our marks, to gird our loins as there is no point running a race that we are ill-prepared for. It is my prayer that we have received the wisdom for the hour to take the next steps in the direction of God’s will for our lives. 

So what is the Holy Ghost saying to us in this new month? February is typically the month we talk so much about love, and so the Holy Spirit is calling to our remembrance a foundational principle for Christian living that was handed to us by our Saviour - the command to love.

During His time here on earth, Jesus had at different points in time taught the disciples how to pray (Lk 11:1-4), to serve (Lk 22:24-27), amongst other things. However, in His final moments with His disciples, after the Last Supper had ended, and after Judas Iscariot had departed in John 13:30, just before His betrayal, He gave them the final instruction, telling them about a new command, unveiling a principle that would mark them as His own - ‘love one another’. The command to love and live in love and harmony will be the testament to the world that they (and we in extension) are His disciples. So we understand first of all that love is a command; we are commanded to love. And like soldiers that we are in Christ, we are expected to obey the command of our enlisting officer (2 Tim 2:4). This further validates the fact that love is a choice and not a gift; we choose to love. It is either we obey God and live a life of love, or we don’t. And when we make the choice to live a life of love, the Spirit of God empowers that decision, enabling us to love like God does (Rom 5:5). Moreso, the way we relate with one another as Christians shows the world whose we are. In other words, our identity as the disciples of Jesus, as christians, is questioned when we do not live in love with each other; the world sees when we argue, fight, betray, judge, condescend, defraud, and do all of these evil things to our fellow Christians. All of these anti-love attitudes dent our credibility and invalidate our identity as children and disciples of God. 

Jesus did not just command His disciples to love. He told them how they were to do so: “...to love one another as I [Jesus] have loved you…” What then does the Jesus kind of love look like? How does Jesus love? Well, the Apostle Paul by the wisdom of God and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit penned down the popular love chapter as we know it (1 Corith 13). To love is to trust; to love is to accept; to love is not to judge or condescend. Love is patient, love is kind. Love gives; it is not selfish. Love honors; it regards and treats with deep respect; it upholds in high esteem; it appreciates. Love builds, it corrects, it doesn’t rejoice in evil; love guides, it speaks the truth. Love is unreserved, unashamed, undeterred; love is present, always listening, never disengaged. Love is not easily offended, it forgives, it promotes peace, and seeks harmony. Love is beautiful; love is life, it is a life-force, and it is a choice. The world has misinterpreted love, defining it to mean everything else but love! You see, to love is to know God (1 Jhn 4:7-10). God is love, and you cannot truly love if you do not know God. The world doesn’t know Him (Jhn 17:25), so it is no wonder why love is being miscontrued. Love is not self-seeking or forceful; love is beyond an emotional feeling. Jesus expected His disciples to get along with each other, and He expects the same from us today. We are all not perfect, and so, we must learn to live above offense and pursue peace with one another. Math 5:46 admonishes us that if we only love those who are lovable, how are we different from unbelievers? Christ loved us while we were yet sinners, and chose to die for us. We did not earn His love, and we don’t have to set pre-conditions too before we love people. True love is unconditional. Like the woman at the well and also the lady caught in adultery, while everyone else saw their faults, Jesus saw their needs. Love sees needs where others see faults; it is not judgmental. The woman at the well was thirsty for acceptance and love, and she kept looking for it in the wrong places: in men and relationships. But Jesus offered to her Living Water that quenched that thirst permanently (Jhn 4:4-18). The Jesus kind of love reaches out to those who are lost. Col 3:12-14 tells us to forbear one another, and to put on the garment of love which is the bond of perfectness and harmony. Recall the Scriptures tell us that love is the fulfillment of the law (Rom 13:8), which means that by living a life of love, we complete what the Law intended for us to do.

Moreso, in this kingdom, everything works by love: giving (1 Corith 13:3), serving (Gal 5:13b), faith (Gal 5:6b), the gifts of the Holy Spirit find real meaning and purpose when used in love (1 Corith 13:1-2); obedience is proof of our love (Jhn 14:21). So in this kingdom, love is the more excellent way.

This year, God wants us to be intentional about living a life that reflects Him, a life of love. Love is not to be assumed; it takes being deliberate. It is my prayer that we come into a deeper knowledge and experience of God’s love for us (Eph 3:18-19), and then reflect this love one to another. Remember that, it is impossible to truly love without God. For God is love. 

All through this month, we shall explore the series: love is beautiful, love is intentional, love forgives, love serves, love lives right, language of love etc. Have a lovely February. Anticipate our daily “Word for the Day” posts which are centred on love all through this month. God bless you.