April 18, 2014 John 13:34–35 (ESV) 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.” True Discipleship Too often we equate discipleship with learning, the acquisition of knowledge. Get into a small group or a one on one relationship with a more experienced Christian and learn all you can. Both of those are certainly good formats for discipleship, but Jesus always goes to the heart of the matter. People will know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. He doesnt say, People will know you are my disciples if you can quote the book of Revelation from memory, or read Greek, or know the difference between supralapsarianism and infralapsarianism. (look them up) The real mark of us as Christians is not church attendance, tithing, or a hundred other activities we often times equate with being a good Christian, but it is love for one another. When Christians bicker, squabble, gossip, and generally fall into hate and discontent with each other, we are showing how little we know about what it means to be a Christian. Worse of all, we may be showing we are not honestly born again. If John is truly quoting Jesus in this passage, this is a serious statement: to be a Christian is to love other Christians - period. If I can list more Christians I dont really care for than I actually can say I love, am I a Christian? This is as serious as it gets because it is Jesus who will be our eternal Judge one day soon. When he looks down at us will we tell him all the times we attended church or taught Sunday School, or the books we read by some Christian author, and trust this as our proof of citizenship? What if he looks back and says, Thats nice, now start naming every Christian brother or sister you actually love. Take your time, Jesus says, I have all eternity to hear your list. Gulp. I need to be cultivating a love for my brothers and sisters in Christ. If I know him, then I must love them. There is no exception clause. The next time you walk into church look around and ask yourself a few simple questions. How many of these people do I love? How many of their feet would I willingly wash? How many of them would I be willing to lay down my life for? This is true discipleship if, and only if, we have love for one another. Question for Growth Get a piece of paper and mark two columns across the top labled “lovem” and “dont lovem”. Now, start putting all your Christian friends in one of those columns. Which list is longer? (Believe me, this exercise is more important than reading another book on Christian finances!) Prayer Father, help me to love every Christian brother or sister with whom I come into contact. May my “dont lovem” list get shorter every day. Amen.
Posted on: Fri, 18 Apr 2014 12:00:44 +0000
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