Love One Another 

   “This I command you: love one another.” (John 15: 17) 

   If we are to ever to have a positive impact on the world around us we must follow Jesus’ command; we must love one another.  This was not a suggestion, or simply something we should do, it was a command.  A command to be obeyed if we are to be His children.

   During the plagues in Rome even the emperor who had been persecuting Christians commented that the Christians not only cared for their own poor but also for the poor of Rome.  The Greek historian Eusebius often commented on the love evident in the early Christians and all they did.

   Saint Mother Teresa lived for years in Calcutta, India.  She cared for all who needed it, no matter their religion.  At first the Indian officials were concerned that she would try to convert their people to Christianity but soon discovered that she saw Jesus in everyone and attended to everyone just as she would attend to Jesus.

   The command to love one another is quite simple, but also quite hard.  It is difficult to love those who hate us, those who would persecute us for our faith, but that is what we are called to do.  Jesus’ entire ministry revolved around love, His love for the Father, the Father’s love for Him and for the love of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit for all of God’s children.

   A ragtag group of uneducated followers of a Messiah that very few accepted changed the world by following His command to love one another.  If we will strive to love one another as they did, maybe we too can make a difference in this world.