"And this is the command of Him, in order that we should believe in the name of the Son of Him, Jesus Christ, and we may be loving one another, just as He gave command to us."
-In case we hadn’t figured it out already, John clarifies for us once and for all, what God’s command is. THE command - this is it. John actually just mentioned keeping His commandS (plural), and he gives us two here. But really they are just different sides of the same coin. You won’t find one carried out apart from the other. This is not an a la carte menu. It’s a combo meal - you’re gonna have fries with that.
-The first item on the menu is to believe in God’s Son, Jesus Christ, to believe in His Name. But there is an "AND", which means the second goes with it. The second is love one another. Believe AND love. They are inseparable, like siamese twins, two peas in a pod. This is John’s whole point. If you believe in Jesus, you must, you WILL love those others who also believe in Him. It’s a FAMILY. That’s the idea. Which leads us to the place where we must ask ourselves, how’s our love life? How’s my love life? How am I doing at loving those who follow Him? Because, practically speaking, our love for our heavenly Father, Who we can’t see, is demonstrated by loving His children, our brothers and sisters, those we can see (isn’t that the whole point behind the parable of the sheep and the goats? cf Matthew 25.37-40). Failing here, we fail ultimately. Catastrophic failure, that’s what we’re talking about. It’s not merely about me getting my fire insurance. It’s about the extension of a heavenly family which extends the goodness of God to all the families of the earth. And what do you wanna bet, if the world could see God’s family really loving one another, they would be lining up out the door to get their own combo meal too. The line would be longer than the Chick-Fil-A drive thru. I’ll have me some Jesus, and a super size side of brotherly love. You know that’s right.
-But here’s the thing, this second part is a doozie, ‘cuz it takes two to tango. The first part I can carry out all by myself. I don’t need you in order to believe, to put my trust in Jesus (well, technically that one IS all on me - but you and the rest of my spiritual family can certainly help me do that). But the second part, the love one another part? That’s definitely a dance for two (or more). I need you in order to pull it off, and you need me. We need each other. Maybe that’s why John says "may be". It’s not just up to me. IF we’re going to fulfill this command, if we’re going to fill out both sides of these commands, we need to do it together. Together. In concert. In unity. Oneness is a plural state of being, for it takes more than one to create one-ness. To love ONE ANOTHER.
-THIS, then, is the end goal. Love. It is the greatest of these (1Corinthians 13.13), the goal of all our instruction (1Timothy 1.5). And to that end, the New Testament is replete with enjoinders for God’s people to love one another. That command itself appears some 16 times, with another 40 mentions of some nuanced way of doing THIS - serve one another, build up one another, encourage one another, give preference to one another - the list is long and quite detailed (see below). All these are just variations on a theme. That’s what this letter John wrote is all about. Christ Himself kicked it off, and He was dead serious about THIS - He repeated the command 5 times as He introduced it in that one discourse, His last significant interaction with His disciples before He died. These then are our marching orders. This is our playbook, and it’s profoundly simple. Only two plays. It’s like crane technique - if do right, no can defense. There’s no stopping us if we can do this right. THIS is our mission (im?)possible, if we choose to accept it. Strategic Plans and Mission Statements and 5-year Visions are fine, in their place (and are a dime-a-dozen anymore), but THIS is THE Mission, the Master Plan. Believe in Jesus - AND love one another. Tell me how WE are going to do THIS. For all our doing, we must do THIS first and foremost. We must do THIS together, in concert with one another. And we should make it our goal to get really, really good at it, at THIS - loving one another. Just as He commanded us.
Be at peace with one another
Love one another (//////////////// - 16x)
Be devoted to one another
Give preference to one another
Be of the same mind toward one another
Do not judge one another
Build up one another (//)
Accept one another
Admonish one another
Greet one another (////)
Wait for one another
Care for one another
Serve one another (//)
Do not challenge one another
Do not envy one another
Show tolerance for one another
Be kind to one another
Speak in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to one another
Be subject to one another
Regard as more important one another
Do not lie to one another
Bear with one another
Teach and admonish one another
Comfort one another
Encourage one another (///)
Live in peace with one another
Seek after that which is good for one another
Stimulate to love and good deeds one another
Do not speak against one another
Do not complain against one another
Confess your sins to one another
Pray for one another
Be hospitable to one another
Clothe yourselves with humility towards one another
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