Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:
John 13:34-35 (NIV)
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
At the last supper, after Jesus had washed his disciples’ feet, he continued to teach them the meaning of what he was doing. These verses are at the heart of this teaching. The command to “love one another” is not really new. What makes it new is when Jesus adds “as I have loved you.” When we fully appreciate how completely Jesus gave his life for us, we become far more willing to give ourselves to one another in loving service.