My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
I drove by a church on my way to work this morning. In front of the building was a large signboard that read, “Love More.”
What do you suppose they meant?
The word “love” holds different meanings depending on your perspective. A worldly view might understand this to mean doing more of what you love. A Christ-like perspective might understand this to mean doing more Christian type stuff.
Let’s assume that the people who wrote the sign know Jesus and were thinking of his command to, “Love each other as I have loved you.” What then, does the “more” mean?
Occasionally I will see a yellow caution sign along the road that says, “SLOW” or “SLOW DOWN.” I wonder if most people assume that they are already going slow enough and think the sign is for someone else? But what if you are already driving slow? How slow are you supposed to go?
The same holds true for loving “more.” Jesus doesn’t say we should feel more love for others. He doesn’t assume everyone is loving too little and should love more. Instead, he says that we should love each other as he has loved you and me.
This is a difficult thing. Jesus loved the people who crucified him. That is why he came to earth: To be killed by those he loved. How then can we refuse to care for those who hate us? I don’t know what “love more” means, but I do have a glimpse of what Jesus meant by “love each other” when I look at how he lived and died.
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