We are meant to love. We are called to love. Even when it’s hard, even when we disagree, even when we don’t feel like it. With very little time left in the world, love is what Jesus choses to emphasize. Not only must we show our love to those in need, but we are to show it to each other, which sometimes feels harder. When we’re quarreling with people who are close to us, we often don’t give them the same grace we offer people we don’t know. But even if we’re being honest and responding out of genuine emotion, even if there’s a reprimand of some kind in order, we are still to do it all in love. It is how we can be set apart, how we can set a new standard and show what relationships can be like in a time where friendships are so fragile and families break apart so easily.

Consider these questions as you reflect on today’s reading:

Do you think your loving attitude and actions lately would prove to the world that you are His disciple? Why or why not?

Why do you think Jesus emphasized this love for each other as a new commandment right before His death, even after talking about love so much previously?