Christianity is love for one another
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”—JOHN 13:34,35
Clearly, the mark of true Christianity is love for one another. This is the command of Christ to love, but it was not new. In the Book of Deuteronomy, God commanded that we love Him and our neighbors.
Yet Jesus’ command regarding love presented a distinctly new standard. He said, “Love...as I have loved you.” He gave a new model for this love, which He exemplified when He washed the disciples’ feet. It was a common courtesy in the ancient world to provide a servant to wash feet.
It was the lowest job on the servant ladder, yet Jesus stooped to do whatever they needed. While that was a magnanimous gesture, it didn’t come close to the lowliness of the One who went to the cross to bear the wrath of God for the sins of His own. He stooped all the way down, took upon Himself the form of a servant, was made in the likeness of man, went all the way down to a shameful death on the cross.
So consider what Jesus meant when He told His disciples to love one another the way He loved them—sacrificially, selflessly, all the way down to most menial task and to giving your life for someone else. If you live like this, the world is going to know you’re a disciple of Christ.