Do you recall singing the song entitled They Will Know We Are Christians By Our Love when you were younger? We sang it a lot when I was a teen. Consider the lyrics. (MetroLyrics ~ Jars of Clay):
We are one in the Spirit
We are one in the Lord
We are one in the Spirit
We are one in the Lord
And we pray that all unity may one day be restored
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love
We will work with each other; We will work side by side
We will work with each other; We will work side by side
And we’ll guard each man’s dignity and save each man’s pride
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
Those are challenging lyrics, are they not?
We are ONE.
We pray for unity.
We will work with each other and side by side.
We will guard each man’s dignity.
They will know we are Christians by our love.
On Tuesday I taught about love in my small group, and focused on two Scriptures that come straight out of the mouth of Jesus.
John 13:34-35 (ESV) tells us to love one another…Christians loving Christians.
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 difficult is it for you to love your fellow Christians?
Really, how difficult is it? I’m challenging you to dig deep in your heart for the truth. Not the Sunday school answer, but the God’s honest truth. Are you at odds with other believers? Has someone in the body of Christ hurt your feelings and you are hauling around a grudge the size of an elephant and, by golly, I’m never going to forget what she did to me!
Have you considered the hurt and pain you caused Jesus, yet He forgave you and showers you with love every day? In light of that, would you be willing to re-consider your feelings toward that brother or sister in Christ?
The other verses I taught from were in Matthew 5:45-45 (ESV):
But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.
Yep, those verses kick, don’t they? LOVE. YOUR. ENEMIES. Pray for those who persecute you.
But, Leah, you don’t know what so-and-so did to me. You have no right to expect me to love them and pray for them.
You are right. I probably do not know what they did to you…but Jesus does. I do not have any right to expect you to love and pray for those who hurt you or your family….but Jesus does.
You see, if you are follower of Jesus Christ, you were once His enemy, and so was I. All bound up in sin and pride and disobedience. Yet, He loved you and me enough to want a relationship with us. He allowed His love to send Him to the cross where HE DIED to make you right with God. Jesus died for my miserable little self. I might as well have held the hammer that nailed Him to the cross. Or you could have been holding it. Either way, you and I sent Him to the cross. And He went because He loved us.
How dare we refuse to love our Christian brothers and sisters! How dare we refuse to love and pray for our enemies! How dare we trample the love that Jesus drenches us with every day!
In this year of political ugliness…in this year of family struggles….in this year of workplace unfairness…in this year of ________________________ ( you fill in your words )…..let’s re-think this how we love. Because really, it all boils down to obedience. Do you and I want to be obedient to Jesus….or don’t we? Do we want to draw others toward Jesus, or push them away from Him?
