Law and love are not in conflict. Love is part of the law, and the law commands love. The command to "love your enemies" became one of the most important moral imperatives ever uttered. Also, the word "commandment" ("commanded" - Mt 28:20) is connected to the word "love," a connection that underscores the costly nature of true love: Jn 13:34-35; 14:15, 21, 31; 15:10. The linkage of the words command and love occurs > 30 times in the N.T., and thus is a significant theme throughout. This connection between costly, Christ-like love and Jesus' commandments is why Jesus calls this imperative the "new commandment."
"Our mission as Christians is to conform ourselves evermore to Jesus as the model of our lives." Pope Francis.
John 13:34: "Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other" (NLT). "Just as I have loved you, so you must love one another" (J.B. Philips). "You must love each other, just as I have loved you" (CEV). Jesus' disciples are to love one another with the same love Jesus had for them during his sojourn. Our love is God's sign to the world (Jn 13:35). This is the mark of genuine Christianity.
"The Johannine talk of love does have practical implications. Love within the community is not merely a matter of warm feelings; rather it is a matter of action." Richard B. Hays. 1 Jn 3:11, 16-18, 23 cover a wide range of activities. There is no sectarian retreat in the new commandment.
"It took me a long time to understand that God is not the enemy of my enemies. God is not even the enemy of God's enemies." Martin Niemoller.
"Loving those we like and hating those we don't like is as common as sin." Scot McKnight.
"If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the dividing line between good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being, and who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?" Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. [Most violence occurs between people who know each other. A husband, wife, coworker, boss, neighbor, family member, or former friend becomes the target of violence. Also all kinds of categories or stereotypes: blacks, whites, Hispanics, Muslims, Arabs, Jews, Democrats, Republicans, gays, punks, pro-abortionists, pro-lifers, illegal immigrants, dictators, jihadists.]
"What if a man gives way to grief and anger and indulges these emotions (which he should struggle against)? What if he rushes wherever injustice will call him? Such a man does not fulfill the duty of virtue. For he who tries to return an injury desires to imitate that very person by whom he has been injured. In short, he who imitates a bad man cannot be good." Lactantius (250-325), a prominent Roman teacher of rhetoric converted to Christianity.
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