The Lord Jesus Christ left us a new commandment which is to love one another the way He loved us. This commandment is similar to the one that says that you should love your neighbor as yourself to the point that many come to say that it is the same commandment, but if we look closely we notice that it is not so. First of all because it is clearly said to be a "new commandment" it means that it exists from the moment the Lord gives it, it has never been given before. Both have to do with loving, but what makes the difference between one and the other is the way of loving.
To love your neighbor as yourself implies that you will do good to your neighbor as long as doing so does not imply sacrificing anything of yourself, at the moment that that love requires you to sacrifice something of yourself then you can already refuse because you cannot love it more than you love yourself.
The new commandment says that we should love each other the way Jesus Christ loves us, this is a greater love than I have for myself, let us remember that Jesus Christ sacrificed his life for us, gave himself to suffering until he died on the Cross being innocent, paying for us who are not innocent and said "there is no greater love than this, that one lay down his life for his friends". This new way of loving implies that if I am to give my life for my brothers I must be willing to do it for love, regardless of whether they deserve it or not. And whether to give my life as much as possible to help him with my goods (without encouraging laziness), or to maintain a constant prayer for him. This is how we know that we are disciples of Christ.
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