Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: The New Commandment: Love One Another (07/23/26)
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TITLE: Down To One | Previous Challenge Entry
By Jack Taylor
07/25/26 -
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Paul leaned back against the cold wall, his wrist chain clinking softly when he moved. Across from him, Priscilla grasped the quill while Aquila secured the inkpot between weathered fingers. The scratching of the reed pen echoed through the small cell.
“Our time in Corinth was such a blessing,” Paul said. “It’s hard to believe things have gotten so dysfunctional already. We’ve reminded them in this letter about unity, lawsuits, marriage and morality, our freedom in Christ, the Lord’s Supper, and spiritual gifts. How could they forget The Way?”
“Maybe there was too much to remember,” Aquilla said.
Priscilla set down the quill and looked at Paul. “When we met John in Ephesus, he said that the Master shared Passover the night before he died and reduced the 613 commands from God down to one.”
"'Love one another as I have loved you,'" they said together.
Aquila rose and stretched. “But what does this look like? This love for God and others wrapped up into a single command?”
Footsteps echoed and faded as a sentry passed down the corridor. A prisoner nearby coughed, and another cursed. Paul rubbed the chain around his wrist. “The law has always pointed beyond itself,” he said.
Aquila knelt on the gritty floor beside his wife. “Yet, even here, we have some who think their standing before God depends on the commands they have kept.”
Paul’s weathered face brightened. “I guess we need to make it clear so that everyone understands. Whether married or single, wealthy or poor, young or old, Jewish or Gentile. Jesus didn’t just command love – he defined it.”
Priscilla whispered, “As I have loved you. That makes all the difference. How did Jesus love?”
Aquila rested his chin on his hands. “I know he washed feet.”
“He fed the hungry, touched the unwanted, welcomed children, restored people to families and communities,” Paul added.
“He gave up his own life for his friends,” Priscilla said, picking up the pen again.
Paul scooted forward, nearer the manuscript. “The command is simple, but the cost of obeying isn’t.” He held up his chains and smirked. “The Corinthians need to know that love put me here.”
Priscilla knit her eyebrows together. “What do you mean?”
Paul smiled. “I could have stayed silent in Jerusalem, stopped preaching among the Gentiles, spared myself from beatings, shipwrecks, riots, and now prison. Love compelled me forward. Christ didn’t shrink from suffering and neither should we.” He leaned closer toward Priscilla. “Write this.”
“Love is patient, love is kind.”
Priscilla neatly scratched out the words. “That is the heart of God. Is there more?”
“It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.”
Priscilla returned to her task, capturing the phrases. “Now, this focuses more on our own heart.”
“It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.”
Priscilla nodded. “This is aligned with what the Master told us when he said ‘love one another.’”
“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
The pen scratched out the message. “This is good,” Aquila said. “We all need to know the results and practices of love.”
Paul leaned back, looking up. “Whether I speak in earthly or heavenly language, love is all that matters. Whether I know all, or demonstrate the greatest faith, love is all that matters. Whether I sacrifice my possessions or my life, love is all that matters. Without it, I gain nothing, and I am nothing.”
Aquila leaned over the parchment. “Amazing. Yeshua captured everything in one word.”
The bright shaft of light shifted, and shadows stretched across the floor. The prison air chilled. Priscilla rolled up the parchment. “I think we’ve covered enough for one day. Do you think the Corinthians will understand this when we finish?”
Paul tugged his cloak a little tighter. “One day they might. God’s Spirit is with each of us. He can bring truth to light. All I know is that wherever the children of God love one another in the same way that Jesus loved them, then all other commands are fulfilled in them.”
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