They Will Know We Are Christians By Our Love by Kim Reisman

Scripture Focus:

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (NLT)

We sing it to a lilting tune, adaptable to most any musical instrument, but frequently accompanied by the guitar and sung around the campfires of youth camps. “They will know we are Christian by our love, by our love, yes they’ll know we are Christians by our love.”

The question is, Do they? Do the people around us know we’re Christians by our love? In many parts of the world there have been ongoing “culture wars” for quite some time. In these contexts and others, the Church seeks to make a convincing apologetic for Christian values in society, to stage a powerful beachhead against moral relativism and secular materialism.

Our militancy on behalf of values is dulled, at least a bit – or should be – when we consider the “culture war” Jesus had to deal with. The people who seemed to give him the most trouble – the people he seemed to admonish the most – were the ones who held the “right” values. These weren’t the folks who were excited about his message. The people who were most excited about the message of Jesus – the ones who flocked to him and followed him even with empty bellies – they didn’t seem to hold any of the “right” values. They were prostitutes and tax collectors, Samaritans and Zealots.

It was almost as though these “right believing” folks were no longer able to love. They didn’t want the sick to experience healing – especially on the Sabbath. They didn’t want sinners to receive forgiveness or share in the breaking of bread.

The truth we need to remember is that we can be right – and yet act wrongly. Being right and knowing it often produces loveless, calloused sermons. We can be so intent on preserving our rightness, our values, that we fail to love. When being right and being on the right side becomes our driving passion, it’s easy to forget the heart of the gospel. Jesus said that the heart of the law is to love God with your entire being and to love your neighbor as yourself. (Mt 22:37-40) And note the dramatic way Paul put it in our Scripture for this week. Without love, we are nothing and gain nothing.

Our primary task as Christians is not to make a rational apologetic for Christian values, but to participate in and witness to the gospel, which has love as its core. We need an experiential apologetic far more than we need an intellectual one. Jesus didn’t say, “All persons will know you are my disciples if you present a convincing argument or promote my agenda.” He did say, “All will know you are my disciples, if you love one another.” As we discussed last week, we demonstrate “the mind of Christ” by loving and serving as he did.

This year we’ve been exploring the notion of allowing virtue to grow in our lives – seeking to be good. As you pray and fast this week, reflect on your life of virtue – your seeking to be good. When has it kept you from loving?

I’m praying for you – that your experiential witness will be strengthened as you relate to others in love. That as you move through this week God will provide more opportunities for you to act the Christian life than talk about it.