Jesus gave us a new command. And yet no one talks about it. In John 13:34, He tells His disciples to love each other as He has loved them. Many people lump this command with "love your neighbor," assuming they mean the same thing. But they do not mean the same thing. Why would Jesus call it a new command if it was the same as the second greatest command?

The second greatest command is about compassion - loving the poor as you would yourself. This new command is loving fellow believers as Jesus loves them. He goes on to say in the next verse that everyone will know you are His followers by your love for each other. Churches should be a place of intense love and care for each other.

I am convinced God saw to it that thousands in Jerusalem came to Christ at Pentecost. Even thousands more followed Jesus shortly after. I believe the reason for this is because we need community. We need a place to share a mission together. Acts 2:42-47 shows how they loved each other with compassion, and oneness of heart and mind. 

It is unusual to find this level of unity in modern churches today. Our focus on individualism and lack of relational skills have severely crippled our churches. We are less like a unified body, and more like disjointed parts, doing our own thing. God is calling us to take seriously this new command to love each other. 

There are scores of Christians who attend Sunday morning church services, but rarely do much beyond that. If we are going display the love of Jesus to the world, we will need to join smaller groups of people. We cannot just get lost in a congregation, hardly interacting with others. We must get past our awkwardness, and join a small group of like-minded believers. Even meeting regularly with a tiny group of 3 or 4 people is better than a whole year of large church services. We need each other. We need community.

Touching base daily with people in our small group is a critical part of staying connected to the body of Christ...even if you're an introvert. Do whatever you must do to surround yourself with strong believers.