Please read the passage before the commentary.
Jesus is our friend and makes us his friends. Friends know all about each other, and Jesus has told us everything he has heard from the Father. Friends lay down their lives for their friends, which Jesus himself has done for us. Jesus, our friend, gives us a commandment that we love each other as he loves us. Therefore, if we are friends of Jesus and have learned what the Father has taught us through Jesus, then we should be laying down our lives for one another.
The one another that we should be loving are not just those immediately around us. It includes those far away from our sight, such as people striving to enter the United States, people suffering in Ukraine, Iran, and other places around the world.
Jesus has chosen us, coming to us despite our selfishness, our pride, our unworthiness. In choosing us, he has made us friends of his. Now he bids us to invite more people into his inner circle. Any friend of Jesus should be our friend. Any potential friend of Jesus should also be our friend.
Our friend Jesus gives us this command, to love one another and to lay down our lives for one another. He has chosen us and appointed us to bring forth fruit that will remain.
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