Can love be commanded? Jesus seems to think so. “Love one another as I have loved you.” It is a love that is active, not passive; it is not so much an emotion as an act of will, a call to service and reconciliation, not quiet contemplation. In fact, as John points out, it’s not that we are commanded to love as it is that loving God IS keeping the commandments. It may not come naturally, but we can learn it, from the same God who loved the world so much He gave His only Son to die for us…that we may have complete and total joy.