On Dec. 25, 2.4 billion inhabitants of this planet will celebrate the birth of one they believe paid the price for mankind’s sins so that all who believe in him may have eternal life.

The spiritual descendants of Abraham — Christians, Jews, Muslims — diverge on who Jesus of Nazareth was or is. But we all agree with this teaching: That we have a responsibility to love one another.

“As I have loved you, so you must love one another,” Jesus said in the New Testament’s John 13:34.

In the Old Testament (Leviticus 19:18), we are commanded to not bear grudges and to “love your neighbor as yourself.” The command “love one another” appears 11 times in the New Testament; “love each other” appears four times. The Quran also advises humankind to love, reminding us that we were made “into nations and tribes, that you may know each other

(not that you may despise each other).”

Love is the theme of this season and is a common thread among people of all faiths. Love drives us to seek solutions to suffering in our communities. Love drives us to seek out that which we have in common, rather than that which may divide us. Love is something this world desperately needs. Love calls forth the better angels of our nature.

May the love of one who paid the price for humankind brighten your season and compel you to work for change in our community.

Merry Christmas.