“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35*).
Sometimes the night sky is cloudless, and the full moon illuminates the landscape, making everything visible clearly. However bright the moon may be, it cannot emit light but only reflect it. This example from nature presents an important spiritual lesson: we could gain the strength to accomplish something that seems impossible with our own means.
Loving others might fall into this category—some people make it incredibly challenging. But in today's passage, the Lord Jesus tells His followers: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (verse 34*). The disciples might have thought this to be impossible, and yet, the command itself contains the key to its fulfillment: before we can love like Christ, we must first receive His love. Only then will we be able to reflect it to those around us and guide others towards the One who cares for them more devotedly and comprehensively than they could ever imagine. The Lord gives us the strength to be imitators “of God as beloved children.” Only then can we live “in love, just as Christ loved us” (Ephesians 5:1-2*). And when we do that, we pass on something great and glorious to others, and as a result, we are blessed.
Link to the original article: https://www.intouchuk.org/read/daily-devotions/reflecting-god-s-love
* Scripture quotations are from Bible, new translation from the original languages © Bulgarian Bible Society 2013