A NEW COMMANDMENT
by Dr. Curtis C. Mitchell
R ecently , while I was talking with a Biola student, she told me her experience of working in an estab lishment where she had found an other Christian employee. With a twinkle in her eyes, she observed, “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we be lievers had a certain badge which would identify us immediately?” I pointed out that this is exactly what we possess. In John 13:34 the Sav iour observed, “A new command ment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” We find here a very intimate scene in the Upper Koom. It was Christ’s last meal with His disciples. Judas has now left the scene. Just before the Saviour made this statement, He talks about going away. He refers to the cross and His ascension. This exhortation is to govern the conduct of His disciples. We have seen a football coach training his players, working very intimately with them. Just before the game, he must leave them. This is according to the rules. Gathering them around him, final instructions are put forth. This is somewhat the scene we have here. Our Lord wants us to remember the importance of this new commandment. This is a precept and instruction to govern our lives as well. This isn’t the 11th commandment as some have called it. It is a new one. It is an unique instruction for a new group of people. Even the most cursory study of the Bible quickly reveals that a major theme of the Bible is love. This is capsu- lized in John 3:16. Keep in mind that this is not a romantic love, as we might tend to 14
think of it. This is clear from the statement, “I want you to love one another as I have loved you." It is the same type of love by which we are loved of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. This love is a very practical thing. Ephesians 5 reminds us that we are to love our wives even as Christ loved the church. We are to love our wives as our own bodies. How does a person do this? The reference is not romantic infatua tion. It is rather a practical concern. This is the kind of love spoken of in I Corinthians 13. In I John 3:17- 18 we see a very practical picture of this, “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother hath need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth” (Comp. Eph. 4:32). Why did Christ say that to char acterize His followers there should be a practical love for one another? Love is to be the credential of the Christian. Practical love for one an other is to be the badge by which men will know that we are really His followers. Today we’re living in a world of confusion not the least of which is in the area of religion. There are all kinds of voices crying out, claiming to be bona fide disciples of Christ. All too often, the world stands back in unbelief. It fails to see the real badge. It’s not by growth; it’s not by buildings; it’s not by programs and publicity; but rather, it’s by love that eternal business is done in the souls of men for God. There must always be a practical demonstration of brotherly love. While we can con-
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker