All Men Will Know

Good Morning,

John 13:34-35 (NIV)
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

I have a question for all of us this morning. Do the people who see us each day recognize that we are disciples of Jesus Christ? According to the Scripture we read today, they should...shouldn't they? Jesus said clearly here in the Book of John that, "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." Therefore, if we believe what Jesus tells us here, everyone should know that we are Christian believers and true disciples of Jesus.

Why then doesn't every person know? Why, I wonder, do we have to TELL people that we're Christians? Why don't folks recognize that we're different from the "normal" people they see all the time?

Of course, the answer is the fact that, for whatever reasons, we don't really show the love of Jesus in our everyday lives. Okay, yes, some of us do...a few of us...unfortunately, VERY few of us. For the most part, the great percentage of Christian believers aren't much different from those who have not accepted Jesus into their lives as Lord and Savior. Too many of us react exactly as those in and of the world when we find ourselves in situations that make us angry, impatient, or otherwise uncomfortable.

Fact is, we don't really show the love that Jesus tells us of in these verses. Even among ourselves...where it should be not second nature, but FIRST nature. Here's a scary thought for you. How do you know the person that you're berating about something isn't a Christian brother or sister? I mean, you find yourself in the grocery store in the express line with one item and there's this person in front of you with a cart full of groceries. Of course, that person should not be there because it IS the express lane, right? So you, in your righteous indignation, begin to make remarks, rolls of the eyes, giant sighs, and in any other way you can think of, make known that you are, well, let's just say unhappy. That person in front of you could very well BE a Christian. And, if so, then we are to show that person love, just as Jesus told us, correct? But, well, we don't. Sure, this is a kind of an extreme example...but, it isn't beyond the realm of possibility. Surely if a non believer were to observe your actions in this situation, he or she would just think that you are...normal...just like them.

"...all men will know..." My friends, the only way that "all men will know" if it's obvious in the way we treat people and act toward people. "All men" will NOT know if we aren't different. "All men" won't much care to know if we are the same as everyone else.

If we truly want "all men" to know that we are disciples of Christ, then we've got to act and speak differently. If we care that people know we are Christians, then we've got to show true love toward everyone. When we are able to do that, then, truly, "all men" WILL see; "all men" will notice, "all men" will begin to understand.

Love, peace, and blessings,

David