Jesus gives us a new commandment to “love one another.” St John reminds us that our greatest task as Christians is to love one another. It was something John himself did not always find easy to practice. Jesus’ commandment is no longer acting in a loving way based on feelings and moods. It is now an agape love, an act of the will, a conscious choice made out of faith-filled obedience. It is a commandment we are all very willing to accept in principle. It is the root of all goodness.
Anyone who calls himself a Christian has to keep reading God’s message of love in the Bible and one has to grow in love, compassion, respect and humility. We cannot become a sect who erects walls and barriers out of fear to keep its members in and to create false security. If a Christian community is truly caring, it becomes obvious that the people are important, that the community is at the service of the people who retain their individuality and their personal freedom to think and make decisions. A real community does not destroy individuals but empowers them.
