“A new commandment I give unto you,” Christ said, “That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” John 13:34 . What a wonderful statement; but, oh, how poorly practiced! In the church of God today brotherly love is sadly lacking. Many who profess to love the Saviour do not love one another. Unbelievers are watching to see if the faith of professed Christians is exerting a sanctifying influence upon their lives; and they are quick to discern the defects in character, the inconsistencies in action. Let Christians not make it possible for the enemy to point to them and say, Behold how these people, standing under the banner of Christ, hate one another. Christians are all members of one family, all children of the same heavenly Father, with the same blessed hope of immortality. Very close and tender should be the tie that binds them together. AA 550.1 Divine love makes its most touching appeals to the heart when it calls upon us to manifest the same tender c…
"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another."
Ellen White directly references John 13:34 in this passage.
"Those who have never experienced the tender, winning love of Christ cannot lead others to the fountain of life. His love in the heart is a constraining power, which leads men to reveal Him in the conversation, in the tender, pitiful spirit, in the uplifting of the lives of those with whom they associate. Christian workers who succeed in their efforts must know Christ; and in order to know Him, they must know His love. In heaven their fitness as workers is measured by their ability to love as Christ loved and to work as He worked. AA 550.3"
"By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."
Both passages emphasize the importance of love as a defining characteristic of Christ's followers. EGW expands on how this love manifests in actions and character, aligning with the principle in John 13:35.