Love Is a Duty

The modern mind finds these kinds of statements quite offensive. Christians tend to find them offensive as well. How dare anyone tell them who to love, and how much! We do not like our affections being commanded. And yet the Lord does precisely that. He tells us to love Him with all of our hearts, souls, and minds (Deuteronomy 6:5). He tells us to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:39). Then, toward the end of His earthly ministry, Jesus tells us to, “love one another; as I have loved you” (John 13:34).

It is this third call to love that John Owen captures in his statement above. When we turn from our sin and trust in Jesus Christ, when we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and are born again, when we take the name Jesus as our Redeemer, then we accept the duty to love other Christians with the love that Christ shows to us. This love is to be “affectionate,” or from the heart. It is to be “sincere” and “genuine,” which means honest, authentic, and with intention.

Our love for one another is “compared to that of Christ for the church.” That is, our love should be joyful, sacrificial, and seeking the good of others. Christ laid down His life for us (John 10:17-18). With joy set before Him, Jesus endured the cross (Hebrews 12:1-2). He gives of Himself for our good. He bears our burdens. He listens to our pleas and gives help in our times of need. Though we cannot be Jesus, we can, by God’s grace, imitate His love in our relationship to other Christians. We can strive to approximate it. We can lay down our lives for the true good of other Christians. This certainly strengthens our unity.

 1. Consider your duty to feel and show affectionate, sincere, genuine love for other Christians. How might you keep this duty fresh in your mind today?

 2. Think about ways to show love to a fellow Christian today, and then carry them out.

 3. Identify something in your life you need to give up in order to love other Christians in a more consistent and genuine way, and then pray to give it up by God’s grace.

* Owen, John (2017). Duties of Christian Fellowship, East Peoria, IL: Banner of Truth, 33