To Encourage You

John 13:34 “Love one another.”

Have you heard of the “one anothers”?  The Bible is filled with them. They are commands that God has given to us regarding the others who are a part of our life. Perhaps the most repeated “one another” is the one above from John 13. This command, to love one another, occurs at least 16 times in the Scriptures. Here are some more of the “one anothers”: “Outdo one another in showing honor” (Romans 12:10).  “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).  “Encourage one another and build one another up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).  “Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another” (James 5:16).  “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24).  “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3).  “Show hospitality to one another without grumbling” (1 Peter 4:9).  “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Peter 4:10).  “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).  

This last one has a phrase that could actually be applied to all the others in this list. It’s the phrase “as God in Christ . . .”  In other words, as God in Christ has done to you, do also to others around you.  It’s a theme running throughout the Scriptures.  It’s telling us that Christians are not to be hermits. We aren’t to just keep to ourselves, doing our own thing, with our focus always inward. Rather, if we are to obey the “one anothers,” there have to be others in our lives.  We should know our neighbors. We should be conscious of others. We should have an “others-centered” life, if you will, as opposed to being so self-centered. 

As I think about this I think again of the example of Christ. Here was One who lived from all eternity in a state of being eternally complete.  In ways that we may never fully understand, Jesus was part of a Trinity, and in that Trinity, there was relationship that was perfect in every way.  He didn’t need us.  He was doing just fine without us.  But then the Godhead decided to create others – you and me and everyone else who has ever been.  And He didn’t just create us to watch us as if we were creatures in a zoo. No, He created us to have a relationship with Him.  He created us to make it possible that where He is, there we might be also (John 14:3).  And He is in a relationship with those who have put their faith in Him at this very moment. He has told us “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).  And, wonderfully, He has said “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).  It is in that relationship that we find encouragement, forgiveness, comfort, peace, joy, hope, love, and help in time of need. He’s a God of relationship, and so we who follow Him are to be people of relationship as well.  As our Lord has done to us, so we are to do to one another. 

It’s probably summed up best in the following command from Jesus: “Love one another: just as I have loved you”?  Obviously, we should be living such a life. One day, we’ll be acutely aware if we have or not, for someday not too long from now, each and every one of us will hear the following words: “as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40). These brothers that Jesus is talking about are all those “one anothers” in our life.