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.”
THEME OF THE DAY: OUR IDENTIFICATION CARD. Today’s scriptures are those I call “danger truths” for two reasons. First, they are so familiar to most Christians that we don’t give them much thought of how profound these truths are and their implication for our lives. Here is what I mean. What does Jesus indicate is the standard of love for people? Himself, not what we think or want, but Him. Is that our standard? These are danger truths because we may think we are loving people when in fact we may fail the test of love – loving as Jesus loves.
The other reason for calling these “danger truths” is the ease of mindlessly reading them and never doing the hard work of self-examination to affirm whether or not we are carrying the “identification card” Jesus says makes us His – a life of love for His people.
So, what would a life of love for other Christians as Jesus loves look like in the daily unfolding of our walks with Him? There is so much we may say on this important topic but time and space restrict us so we will identify two marks we are carrying the “I am a Jesus’ follower identification card of love” as modeled by Him.
First, the followers of Jesus, modeling His love to His people, all His people, will be those Christians whose speech is characterized by grace and truth or we might say, “Having a reputation of gracious speech like our Lord”. When Jesus began His ministry, Luke records a riveting account of Jesus in the synagogue and what the people said of His speech – And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”(Luke 4:16-22). Our identification card of love always contains controlled and gracious speech, yes, even in the potentially heated moments in a conversation.
Another mark of being a person loving like Jesus, carrying the proper identification card of love, is our sacrificial service to His people. Profession without practice is worthless and deceiving. To say, “I love Christians” and be disengaged, detached, and not serving Christians is a false profession. Love acts. Love moves into service. What did Jesus say of Himself – “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). A faith “without the feet of action” is a false faith and to love like Jesus means serving and serving sacrificially.
So, danger truths before us today. Be careful not to gloss over them without a thorough self-examination to see if we are truly carrying “the identification card” of being a disciple of the Lord Jesus; loving as He loved in word and deed.
PRAYER: “Father, may my life be one of love in word and deed validating I am truly a follower of Your Son.”
QUOTE: “Do serious self-examination to see if what we say we are is what we truly are and that by our lives of love.”
In the affection of Christ Jesus,
Pastor Jim