“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” (John 13:34)
“So in everything, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:12)
“But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, {28} bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” (Luke 6:27-28)
“If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. {4} Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.” (Luke 17:3-4)
“Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, {2} older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.” (1 Timothy 5:1-2)
“Let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” (Ephesians 5:33)
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28)
When Christianity came into our world, it brought many great and lasting changes. Perhaps the greatest of these was the way in which it transformed our relationships.
Every relationship.
The relationship between husband and wife, parents and their children, employer and employee, master and slave, older and younger, men and women, friends and enemies, that between neighbors, Jew and Gentile — all were transformed as people began to practice the Christian faith.
This new way of relating to others was both taught and modeled by Christianity’s founder: Jesus Christ.
Jesus showed us a new way of living and loving as He welcomed unto Himself the lowly and downtrodden, the sick, the poor, criminals and outcasts, the elderly, the weak and those who were struggling, orphans and widows.
He not only welcomed them — He loved them and treated them with dignity and respect.
In his gospel, Luke details six outcasts Jesus welcomed with open arms:
- The Leper in Luke 5:12-16.
- The paralytic in Luke 5:17-26.
- Levi the tax collector in Luke 5:27-32.
- The sinful woman in Luke 7:36-50.
- The demon-possessed man who lived in a cemetery in Luke 8:26-39.
And, though Jesus didn’t actually welcome him in person, the story He tells of the Prodigal Son who was welcomed home by his loving father was an eyebrow-raising tale of scandalous love, mercy and grace (Luke 15:11-32)!
Jesus welcomed and loved people — even those whom society labeled as “undesirables” — in a way the world had not seen before.
And now He asks us to do the same — to love people the way He loved people.
“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” (John 13:34)
“Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” (Romans 15:7)
It starts at home. It starts with husbands and wives, and parents and their children, loving each other as they should.
No, better than that! We must love each other as Christ loves us.
It continues as we leave our homes and enter the world. We must strive to love our neighbors and friends, our boss and coworkers, the people who serve us in restaurants and coffee shops, the clerks at the checkout counter, each and every stranger we meet — the way Christ has loves us.
And how does He love us?
Completely.
Without reservation.
Consistently.
He loved us despite the fact that, at times, we were unlovable (Rom. 5:8)!
If we had to describe the wondrous love of Christ in one word, it would be this: always.
That’s our challenge: to love others as Jesus loved us — even our enemies (Matt. 5:44).
When Christianity came into this world it forever transformed human relationships. And to the extent that we truly live out our faith and walk in the footsteps of Jesus, it will transform every relationship in our life.