Article October 23, 1978 Issue

Church relationships and the new commandment

RICHARD A. MATHER

The Bible is a fascinating handbook on relationships. It illustrates what Jews and Christians accept as divinely ordained standards of right relationships, both with God and with our fellowman.

Christ Jesus taught that the essential element in these relationships is love. So accurate was his analysis that he summarized the entire body of Jewish law in two "love commandments" (both of which can also be found in the Old Testament): "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.... Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."^{Matt. 22:37, 39;}

In John's Gospel we find another love commandment, this one dealing with the relationships among Jesus' followers. Jesus called it a "new commandment," but it is deeply rooted in the tradition of love for God and man. He said: "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."^{John 13:34, 35;} In addition to some of its more profound implications, this commandment is a fundamental rule for church activity and the relationships among church members. This standard of Christly love is essential in today's world. It is fundamental to solving the complex problems of the world.