Know By Love

October 30th

Today's Bible Reading

Know by Love

John 13:34-35

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

How can you know that someone is a disciple of Christ? How can you identify a Christian? Is it by their profession of faith or by their involvement in the church? Could it be by their cross necklace or perhaps their religious demeanor? Jesus gives some clarity to this question.

Throughout His earthly ministry Jesus made definitive statements regarding the identifying factors of His followers. For example, He says later in this gospel, “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” (John 15:8). There are many other examples of these declarations of discipleship throughout the gospels.

Here He gives His followers a new commandment. He tells them to love one another just as they have been loved by Him. But then He proceeds to tell them that by demonstrating this Christlike love for one another they are declaring that they are His disciples. What they do shows who’s they are. Thus, they are known by their love.

Loving one another is not easy. Some of us deem others unlovable. We declare them hard to love. We try, but we find it almost impossible to love all the “anothers” in our life. Yet that’s a characteristic of our confession. It is an evidential mark of our belief. “By this”, by loving one another, we express our faith in the one who loved us. It is one thing to be loved, it’s quite another to love. We are to love like we have been loved, with the same unconditional, unabashed, unrelenting love with which Jesus has loved us. We are to display a giving and forgiving love. We are to show a selfless sacrificial love. We are to exhibit an inclusive everlasting love. We are to love “just as” Jesus has loved us.

Consider today those in your life that are difficult to love. The ones that get under your skin. Those that ruffle your feathers. The “anothers” that you avoid. There may be a myriad of reasons for your feelings toward them and a slew of stuff that stirs up strife with them. Yet, Jesus commands you to love them. So, loving them is not optional, but obligatory. It is compulsory for all Christians. The how is hard.

The good news is that He qualifies the manner in which our love is to be exhibited in the phrase, “. . . as I have loved you”. Our ability to love the “anothers” is built on our awareness of how we are loved by Jesus. Stop and consider how Christ has loved you. The immensity of His intimacy. There were times you were hard to love, yet He loved you. There were moments where you were the difficult disciple, yet He loved you. There were seasons of straying, yet He loved you. It is when we reflect on His love that we can respond like He loved. So regardless of the reasons for your lack of love, reflect on His love for you. Let how Christ loved you lead you in how to love others.

The world is longing for inclusive, unconditional, everlasting love. The kind of love that you found in Christ. Now He is calling you to demonstrate His love and declare you are His disciple by loving one another. “By this”, All will know you are His. They will know you are a Christian by your love.

Today set your heart and mind on loving the “anothers” in your life. If you have harbored resentment or repulsion for any one, repent of your disobedience and ask the Lord to restore the broken relationship. Remember that how you respond reflects who’s you are. Ask the Lord to help you love like Jesus loved so that people will know your “likeness” to Him.