"By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
How does the watching world know whether or not the claims we make regarding the transformation Christ has wielded in our hearts is legitimate?
Scripture Focus:
"By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:35)."
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love ( (1 John 4:7-8)."
"We love, because He first loved us. If someone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar (1 John 4:19-20)."
Francis Schaeffer used to say, "This is the mark of a Christian." A mark of a Christian is someone who loves God's people. It is their badge.
You are as spiritually mature as you are deep in your love for the people of God. Whatever you may know,
whatever your experience might be,
whatever your level of gifting—
you are as Christ-like as you are deep in your love for the people of God.
This has nothing to do with being an introvert or an extrovert. It has to do with spiritual maturity.
What if there is no love?
Easy answer.
If there's no love for the people of God, there is no true conversion. If there is no affection for the people of God, there is no regeneration.
You don't like black and white? Our world doesn't like black and white. We love gray. But the Bible is crystal clear in this regard.
First John 2:9-10: "The one who says he is in the light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. The one who loves his brother abides in the light."
First John 3:14: "We know that we have passed out of death into life"—that's salvation—"because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death."
First John 4:7-8: "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love."
When God takes up residence within someone's heart, when He changes their heart, the Holy Spirit pours out the love of God into your heart so that it's experientially real. You've tasted that love. It's not just a doctrine you affirm. It's a reality you've tasted.
If you are a child of the Father, you're going to love His children.
Do you want to convince the world around you of the power of God? Then love someone who is unlovable to you (naturally speaking), and give the glory to God for the power He is working in and through you to love them like Christ loves you.
1. Do you love God's people? Really?
2. If there's no love for the people of God in your life, have you truly been born again?
3. Who is someone unlovable to you that God is calling you to love through His power?
Stay dialed in
