One Another

“This is My commandment, that you

love one another as I have loved you.”

     John 15:12 (NKJV)

“With all lowliness and gentleness,

with longsuffering, bearing with

one another in love.”

     Ephesians 4:2 (NKJV)

“Therefore comfort each other and

edify one another.”

There are some 59 “one another” verses in the New Testament—verses exhorting Christians to show love, grace, patience, etc. to one another.  Listed above are just a few of them.  I’ve heard a sermon series on the “one anothers” and it was both interesting and convicting.  They seem easy enough in the abstract to do but often hard in practice.  I can usually be loving and patient when it suits me, but it can be a big challenge when it’s inconvenient, when I don’t think I have the time or desire to deal with the person or situation.

 For example, the other day my heart sank when I saw my neighbor poke his head out of his condo as I walked down the hallway to my place. He’s a dear man who lives alone (and is lonely, I think) and he loves to talk.  A conversation with him is never just a minute or two and I was anxious to get home and do the things I had planned.  So when he asked me to come in to see the new set-up he's designing for his trains, I was sorely tempted to beg off. 

But then I remembered that he too loves Jesus and how we’re supposed to love one another and bear with one another.  More importantly, I remembered how the Lord always has time for me.  I’m never an interruption; He never tells me to come back later when He’s not busy. So by God’s grace, I was able to rejoice with my neighbor and encourage him to pray about a certain issue.

 I have a long way to go, but little victories like this encourage me to keep pressing on.  Why not pick out one or two of the “one anothers” and try practicing them this week? Jesus said that by showing love to one another, all will know that we are His disciples (John 13:35).  Let's show the world we are His by our loving words and actions.