The One Command

March 29, 2021

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.John 15:12 NIV

Last conversations are significant. Before the boss leaves on vacation, the last conversation is sure to include vital instructions. The last conversation when Dad and Mom send a child off to college is certain to contain words of assurance and empowerment. Entire books have been written as gathered collections of the last words of notable or famous people, showing what was most important to them in those last moments of life here.

Jesus knew He was leaving. John 13-17 are entirely the events and words of the hours spent with His disciples, His closest and dearest of friends, just before the betrayal, arrest, and hasty trial that would have Him on the cross in less than twenty-four hours. What was on His mind? Relationship. The same as always. Relationship with God and people.

He knew the disciples loved Him. That is where it all starts. Love of God—relationship with Jesus—is the starting place for all vital relationships. But the love of Jesus for us is more than that. He said it is to be the standard for the way we love others. It was His last word; His one command.

If you are truly a Jesus-follower, there is nothing more important in life than your relationships. The priority relationship is your relationship with God, and following close behind is your relationship with the people He has placed in your life. This includes your family, your neighbors, and your church. If you are following Jesus’ last words, His only command, you are prioritizing those relationships right behind your relationship with God. You are making sure those connections are strong and healthy, and that your loving impact on their lives is modeled after the way Jesus has loved you.

In His Stepsis a novel written in 1896 by Charles Sheldon. It remains one of best-selling books of all time, having sold more than 50,000,000 copies. Set in the fictional mid-western city of Raymond, it begins with the arrival of an out-of-work stranger, who, after a week of unsuccessfully seeking employment among church members, interrupts the Sunday service to ask the startled members what it means for them to followJesusin their daily lives. The book continually underscores the fact that the only true mark of a Jesus-follower is that he/she loves others in the same patient, sacrificial, consistent way that Jesus has loved us.

• Jesus-followers love Him and follow in His steps. How will that impact your connection with others today?