Love One Another
Ask: What are some characteristics of each animal?
Great job! Animals are very different from each other. We can identify them by the way they look, by the way they act, and, yes, even by how they smell.
Did you know that there is a way for people to know who is a Christian? What are some of the characteristics of a Christian? (let them respond) Jesus tells us that there is one very special characteristic of his followers in our scripture today.
Read: John 13:34-35
Jesus says that we will be identified as his followers by how we love other Christians. Not by how often we go to church or anything like that, but by how we treat other followers of Jesus. And we are to love each other like Jesus loved us. We are commanded to offer each other the same compassion, forgiveness and service he gave us. It also means we don’t just love other Christians when we feel like or when it is easy. We have to choose to treat each other well, to provide for other’s needs and forgive each other even when it is really hard. And when we love each other like this, those who don’t know Jesus will see that we are different and know that Jesus is working in us.
Loving others like this is actually impossible for us to do on our own. We have to trust God and ask him to change our hearts. When we do, he promises to help us to know how to love and then gives us the power to do it! Let’s ask him to help us today.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for demonstrating your love for me through Jesus. Help me to love other Jesus-followers like you love me. In Jesus name, amen.