Proof
“Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” John 13:35
“How does the world know that you belong to Christ? Jesus said that we are to love one another. Christian apologist, Tertullian, who was born in the latter part of the first century, quotes the pagans as saying of Christians, “Behold, how they love one another.” I wonder how true that is in the 21st century? Do those who are outside the church look at the church today and say, “Behold, how they love one another?” Or is it more like, “Behold how they quarrel and fight amongst themselves? Behold how they can’t even agree on the color of the carpet”?
Love should be a Christian’s single most defining attribute. And not just love, love for one another. Loving one another is hard because we are not all lovable. But not loving one another is not an option if we are truly representing Christ.
A man asked Jesus what the most important commandment was. Without hesitation, Jesus gave him a two-part answer: Love God and love people. All the other commandments point to loving God or loving people. Jesus says, “You want to learn to love unlovable people? Start with your brothers and sisters in the church.” I recently read this in a sermon by Ed Sasnett: “The reason why our churches struggle in forgiving one another, agreeing with one another, and encouraging one another is we are not good at loving one another.”
On the night Jesus was betrayed He told his disciples, “Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another.” How did He love his disciples? He loved them by humbly washing their feet as an act of service. Love means to humbly serve.
1 John 4:7 says, “Let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God.” Even though it may be difficult to love sometimes, Jesus will empower us to love others as He has loved us. So, I guess you could say we are without excuse. If we are not loving one another, it may be because we are trying to love them in our own strength. We can love each other as Christ loved us when we rely on the love that comes from God. Then the world will surely know that we belong to Him.