MY COMMAND IS THIS...

I am going to show my age here, but there is a song that the whole world could benefit from right now. It was performed by Burt Bacharach and the song is "What the World Needs Now Is Love".  I am a 1970's kid. I had a wonderful childhood. Teenage years were great. College was so good, I still have dreams about those days. But after I graduated Appalachian State University in 1993, the world seemed to kick into another gear and somebody pulled the "world-plug-on-love". Today, it is no wonder what the world needs now is love. 

If we rewind history, just a tad, to the Old Testament days - we can observe a perfect world. All one had to do, to live right in this perfect world was to follow some 600+ laws and regulations flawlessly. Exactly. That feat cannot be done except by God Himself. Funny I should mention that because God sent Himself in the form of His Son, Jesus to execute every letter of The Law.

Fast-forward to today. God has given us a better Agreement, Contract or Covenant through His Son's blood, therefore by believing in Him and His sacrifice, He takes care of what we never could. He bridges the chasm between humanity and Father God. There is just one command He now leaves with us - love.

Jesus had plenty of life-instruction that He gave His disciples, but when the dust settled from all that He taught one was supreme - love as I have loved. That is what John 15:10-12 says -

• If you keep my commands [instructions], you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

Other Scripture that supports Christ's Command is -

• 1 Peter 4:8. In this letter Peter is inspired to use the words "love deeply each other, from the heart" to describe our caring effort toward one another. This from the heart phrase means more than surface caring. It means involvement in another's life.
• 1 John 3:14 mentions whenever you have decided to start loving others consistently then "you have passed from death to life".
• Matthew 22:37-40 declares - “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
• Paul would echos Christ's Command and especially Matthew's version in Romans 13:9 and Galatians 5:14.

Jesus brought 600+ rules and regulations down to one Command for us - love one another as I have loved you - and we still cannot follow this command. Some of us do not even know how to love our neighbor as ourselves. However, not knowing how does not let us off the hook. The word Command is not spelled s-u-g-g-e-s-t-i-o-n. Let us get busy about the Father's business for He said, My Command Is This.