To Love as Jesus Loves

“These things I command you, so that you will love one another” (John 15:17, ESV).

In his letter to the Galatians, the apostle Paul shows what happens when we don’t live out this kind of love that Jesus describes.

Paul lays out two types of sin. He identifies gross sins, the kind we associate with outward behavior. He also lays out relational sins and shows how they are just as deadly and destructive. Relational sin affects our souls in ways we could never imagine. It not only affects our witness to the world but also the deepest parts of our being, spreading to those around us.

Paul brings this to light in the Corinthian church by pointing out a glaring problem: divisions among them. “I fear that perhaps when I come I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish—that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder” (2 Corinthians 12:20). Note the final word in this list: disorder. This indicates that relational sin is at work.

Each of the things Paul lists here concerns failing to love as Christ loved. In these terms, it’s easy to see how love can’t be just a sentimental gesture. It is a battle to be fought, and the weapons we bring are forgiveness, grace, mercy, and justice.

One of the Corinthians’ conflicts involved the teaching they would accept. Some said they would follow only Paul’s direction, while others followed Peter. Paul had to tell them, “I can’t address you as mature people while you’re in this condition. You’re reasoning through your flesh.”

The Greek word Paul uses for “flesh” indicates the skin or fatty tissue of the body. But, of course, Paul is describing the condition of their soul. He’s telling the Corinthians they’re caught up in an earthbound way of living rather than walking out the Spirit-filled life.

But as Jesus and Paul both point out, refusing to love at even the most mundane level can have huge consequences, leading to grief, alienation, and regret. Strife in a relationship usually affects a larger circle of friends or family. In turn, that can extend to an entire community, as Paul showed what was happening among the Corinthians.

Friend, to love as Jesus loves, even in what seems like a small matter, isn’t a choice; it’s a spiritual discipline.