By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
Do other people know you belong to Jesus?
You can tell who is a police officer at a glance by the uniform they wear. It is hard to miss a firefighter in their turnouts and a fire truck. Hipsters have a distinctive look that sets them apart even though they don’t wear a uniform. The followers of Jesus also have a distinctive look.
Sadly, not everyone who claims to be a follower of Jesus actually has the “look” of a follower. Jesus commanded his disciples to “love one another.” He then added, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples…”
When you look for a disciple of Jesus what do you look for? Are you looking for a specific church affiliation? Are you looking at how a person talks? Do you notice how they love one another?
It is not so easy, is it? To know if someone loves others, you have to know them.
Let’s Discuss: What do you consider to be indications that a person loves others as Jesus commanded?
Humility, contentment, selflessness, patience and a clean conversation are typical indicators with folks I don’t know (and those I do know. ) A prior pastor of mine would say, “Your talk talks and your walk talks, but your walk talks louder than your talk talks.” Thank you for the question. It makes me consider my own demeanor and intentions.
JEC,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I like your summation, “the walk talks louder.” So true!
One way is by whether they serve others like Jesus does. Am I being obedient to that command? I am also hoping for the fruit of the Spirit in my own life to indicate that I am loving others well (Galatians 5: 22 – 23 – of course the first of these is love). The 58 other “one-anothers” in Scripture also are indicators as they all flow from the primary call to love one another.
Thank you, Rich!
I love the “one anothers!”