“And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love.
They will know we are Christians by our love.”
~ song lyrics written by Peter Scholtes and Carolyn Arends
They will know we are Christians by our love.”
~ song lyrics written by Peter Scholtes and Carolyn Arends
Galatians 5:6 “For in Christ… the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”
When I first thought of writing this post, the words to that song kept floating through my mind. It is a truly beautiful song, and the melody is no less beautiful than the words. And the words are so true! As Christians, love is an extremely important part of our lives. But before I get started, I must apologize – I seem to have a genius for creating extremely long blog posts and this one is definitely going to be long! Perhaps this is why it takes me so long to get a new post out. In any case, I apologize beforehand!
Matthew 10 tells the story of a time when the experts of the law, content in their wisdom (or foolishness) tried to test Jesus with a question. Never having learned the futility of using the same failing tactics again and again, the experts continually tried to embarrass Christ with a question He could not answer, and continually ended up being embarrassed themselves! What folly for man to try to match wits with the Creator!
In any case, verses 35-40 are the ones which we shall focus on. “One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all you rmind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
So, the two greatest commandments in the world are about love. The first: to love God, and the second: to love your neighbor as yourself. These two commandments are the greatest because they encompass all the others! Go through the list of the 10 commandments and try to find one which does not fall under these two rules, and you will see what I mean. The first four fall under the Greatest Commandment: If you love God, then you will worship Him alone. If you truly love God, you will not love anything more than Him; you will not allow anything to become an idol in your life. If you truly love God, you will not take the Lord’s name in vain, and if you truly love God, you will remember the Lord’s day, and keep it holy. The other six, fall under the second Greatest Commandment “to love your neighbor as yourself.” If you love others, you will honor your father and mother. If you love others, you will not murder, commit adultery, steal, give false testimony, or covet!
“Let no debt remain outstanding except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellow man has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “do not steal,” “do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” (Romans 13:8-10)
So we see that love is very important in a Christian’s life. But what does this love look like? The world will tell you that love is a feeling, an intense burning passion that cannot be refused and is selfish at best. But the image of love which the world continually sets before our eyes is a very different image than the one which we find in the Bible. So, what does this love look like?
To get a clear picture, we should turn to the greatest example of love ever displayed throughout all of history, a love which endured humiliation, suffering, sacrifice and torment, and remained firm; a love which died so that we might live; a love which, praise be to God, rose again and now lives again, pleading on our behalf. I speak of course of the love which God had for us when He sent His Son, and the love which the Son had when He left the glory He had in heaven and assumed the humble form of a baby, and the love which He had for us as he climbed the hill of Golgotha to His death. Such love cannot be surpassed! This is the ultimate example of love.
John 3:16, perhaps the most quoted verse in the Bible, clearly expresses God’s love for us. No doubt you have read or heard it as many times as I, but try to read it again with new eyes: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but shall have eternal life.”
The immensity of this love is made clearer when it is understood that Jesus Christ did not come to die for men who were already holy and clean, for there were none. He came to die for sinners, filthy sinners – enemies of God.
Matthew 9:12-13 records Jesus’ words to certain religious leaders: “On hearing this, Jesus said, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’”
And in Romans 5:6-8, it is written, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
So, we see that Christ presents the clearest example of love that can be found. Love is so illustrated in the person of Christ that we merely have to study Him to see what love is! And John chapter 15 shows us a little bit of that picture.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.” John 15:9 and verse 12, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”
Now here is some good food for thought: so, as the Father loved His holy, only begotten, Son, Christ also loved us, sinners, enemies of God, unholy, and deserving of death. Isn’t that amazing? It is unfathomably awesome beyond the reaches of the imagination! And as Christ loved us, we are also to love one another. So, as – or in the same manner as – the Father loved the Son, and as Christ loved us, we are to love those around us.
But what does that mean? In vs. 13, Christ gives us an example of such love: “Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends.” Christ later presents this example in an even more clear form through His own action of laying down His life for us upon the cross. And, here I will have you notice, that while Christ said that no one has greater love than to lay down his life for his friends, yet Jesus Christ did not die for friends. He died for enemies, unrepentant sinners, you and me. Again, this simply “blows my mind away.”
So, to put it simply: true love is sacrificial. Love sacrifices itself for others. And while you may never be called upon to lay down your life for another here upon this earth, yet you can still lay down your life (in the sense of your wishes, your desires, your hopes and dreams and wants) for others. I know that I have said this before in several other blog posts, but I think it is important! It requires a different mindset. You can no long consider your life your own, or your time your own. As a Christian, your life belongs to the Lord, for you were ransomed by His blood from death. As a Christian, your time belongs to the Lord (after all, He has given you every minute of it!) and not to yourself – it is not your time! Oh how strange that sounds and what a complete reversal of thought. I know that I consider time to be my own; I do not want to let go of that concept but rather hold on so tightly to it that my fingers and knuckles turn white! I cannot let go of my time! Too often I respond impatiently when asked to help with something because it interferes with my time. How many times have I not given my all to assist with something to further the Lord’s kingdom because I “could not spare the time?” But there are no reserves when following Christ. You cannot follow Christ in all else, and give Him all else, but reserve the concept of your own time.
I’m sorry; I took off on a little bit of a tangent there. Back to my original topic (perhaps there is a separate blog post lingering back there somewhere!) True love is sacrificial. It looks out not for its own interests but for the interests of others. True love is willing to lay aside all else, to forget self and live for Christ and others.
Since, as already stated, Christ exemplifies love for us, and we are called to show the same love to others which Christ has shown for us, I thought that this passage of Scripture from Philippians would be great to look at.
Philippians 2:5-8 “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross.”
This is probably one of my favorite sections of Scripture! Reading through it, we discover that love is humble and that love serves. These two aspects of love were evident throughout Christ’s life.
John 13:1 & 14-15 “It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for Him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He now showed them the full extent of His love.”
Jesus then proceeds to wash the disciples’ feet – a task normally reserved for the lowest of servants. Afterwards Jesus says, “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”
Galatians 5:13-14 “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Love is humble and serves. As Christ was humble and served, we must be humble and serve as well.
Love does not think wrong of others nor judge. This one is very difficult because it is not always obvious to you when you are doing it. It is usually such a quiet secretive thought inside that it can be hard to see. And yet Jesus Himself warned against judging: “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” (Luke 6: 37)
A judgmental attitude rises from pride. And love is not prideful, rather, it is humble. Now, don’t take me wrong, I am not saying that we should not be wise, nor am I saying that we should not call out sin when we see it. Sin is sin regardless. Judging is when you look at someone from a superior attitude, from a mindset of “I’m better than you.” In all honesty, don’t you sin as well?
So, love is sacrificial, love is humble, serves, and does not judge. I could go into much farther detail, for I have not even begun to scrape the tip of the iceberg with all that I have written here. But, this is getting really long, so I shall be forced to end it soon. If you wish to do some studying on your own look at I Corinthians 13 (the love chapter of the Bible) and use cross references if your Bible has them or continue to study the life of Christ!
But, before I end, I shall pull this post back around to the original topic. Now that we have seen a little (only a little mind you) of what love is like, the question “who are we to love?” must arise.
Looking back at the two greatest commandments (“Love God” and “Love your neighbor as yourself”) we can conclude that we are to love both God and our neighbor. But, who is our neighbor? Just the person living next door? What about the one two houses down from that, are we to love him as well? One of the experts in the law asked this question as well. In answer Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan (if you are not familiar with it, you can find it in Luke 10:25-37). Now, the Samaritans were despised by law-abiding Jews. And Jesus ends the story by bringing the expert in the law to the conclusion that the Samaritan was considered his neighbor. So, your neighbor is not simply the person living next door, or even one a few blocks down, your neighbor can also be your worst enemy, and you are supposed to love him as well.
“And this brings us back to the song lyrics I placed at the beginning. “And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love. They will know we are Christians by our love.” It is our love that sets us apart as Christians. But why? Because we are called not only to love those whom we like and who like us back, but those who hate us as well, our enemies!
In Luke 6: 32-36, it is written “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that… But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your father is merciful.”
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your
enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” (Matthew 5:43-44)
It is our love, not only for other believers or people we like, but for our enemies – for those difficult people at school or at work, for the infuriating drivers on the road, for the rude cashier at the grocery store, for the bully at school, or the adult with the very strong personality who can ride you down like a bulldozer crushes a twig– it is our love for these people that sets us apart as Christians.
Ephesians 5:1-2 “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children, and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offer and sacrifice to God.”
Here is an amazing quote. Read it and try to walk away un-awed:
“If we cut off their tongues and forbid the Christians speech, they love with their hands, with their feet, and with their eyes, they love always and everywhere until their last respiration. Does anybody know how to take out the power of love from these stupid Christians?”
~ A Romanian prison guard who found both his fulfillment and frustration in torturing Christians.
~ A Romanian prison guard who found both his fulfillment and frustration in torturing Christians.
This is what we should all be like. So that “They will know we are Christians by our love.” Now, it sounds very well to say it, but when you sit down and think about it, the question that must arise is, “If I will be known as a Christian by my love, am I showing the love that would mark me as a Christian?”
I challenge you to pray about it. I continually pray that the Lord would help me to truly love both Him and others, since love is the foundation upon which so much else is built. I also pray that the Lord would help me to see others through His eyes, rather than through my own. My own eyes too often see only their weaknesses and their faults, but Christ’s eyes, so much better than my own, can see their heart!
I Thessalonians 3:12-13 “May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May He strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all His holy ones.”
I Corinthians 16:13-14 “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love.”
Philippians 1:9-10 “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ.”
~ A Servant of the King
“To the praise of His glory!”
A Servant of the King says
I interrupted my series of posts on the Narnia series to post this. But I will get back to Narnia soon and finish my posts on the seven books!
Jake says
Awesome post! Really thought-provoking.
Jake says
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