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Scripture Reading : John 13:35

             By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

If we love one another we prove to the world that we belong to Christ, but if the world finds us quarreling among ourselves it is apt to call us a bunch of hypocrites. Love is the badge by which Christ wants His disciples to be known. Our Lord is noted for His love and He desires that we be noted for that, too. True love highly commends Christianity but lack of it casts reproach on our profession and suspicion on our sincerity. Some profess to be Christian who are filled with so much malice, so much spite; who are so ill-tempered, and so filled with complaint, that one is made to wonder whether they can really be children of God. We do not prove to the world that we are disciples of Christ by contending that our opinions are the only ones that are right and the opinions of everyone else are wrong. We turn off people by saying, "We believe in the whole Bible" in an arrogant, better than you, attitude. We may be thoroughly fundamental in doctrine, claiming a belief in the virgin birth, the atoning work of Christ, the resurrection, and the coming again of our Lord, but this will prove little or nothing to the unsaved, if they do not see in us a manifestation of the spirit of love. In fact, without a spirit of love we will have a difficult time convincing anyone that we are truly Christian.

A bad example

A certain Christian, in many ways a good man and a good Bible teacher, proposed having some meetings in his home.       Another Christian invited some people to these meetings. A man asked, "Did I understand you to say that your preacher will be speaking at these meetings? If so, then I will not attend. He and his wife fight like cats and dogs." At home he was not always wearing the Christian badge and it was definitely injuring the work of the Lord. It is wonderful to have small group Bible study¹ at home speaking a good word for Christ, but nothing has more effect on the unsaved than a true spirit of brotherly love.

A good example

The story is told of a preacher of the Word who manifested a wonderful spirit of love passed away. The building in which the funeral was held could not begin to hold the people attending. Hundreds with tears in their eyes lined the streets as the hearse passed by. So mightily had his love affected so many.

Another good example

A Christian merchant was so highly esteemed by his fellow citizens that when he died they put the flag at half mast over city hall, and on the day of his funeral every business place in the city closed. Would the Christians in your town really feel bad if you should pass on? Or does the old saying fit us better? "It would be good for our town if the Lord would just take so-and-so to heaven." "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith" (Gal. 6:10).

A worker in the slums of New York

A Christian worker often visited and helped a poor woman who was sick in an upper floor of an old run down building in the slums of New York . She tried to preach Christ to this woman as she cleaned the place and nursed her back to health. She could not seem to break through the hard shell of indifference. Finally the woman was well and the Christian sister said she would not be back and with tears in her eyes asked, "May I kiss you goodbye?" With that she planted a kiss on her cheek and started to leave. This act of love broke down this hardened woman and she was lead to Christ.

A Missionary in China

William Harrison told this story:

While preaching in Europe, I heard a story of a brother missionary in China who was engaged in translating the New Testament into the Chinese language. He employed a Chinese scholar to help him in this work. He decided to say nothing to his helper about becoming a Christian until the translation work was all done. When the work was finished he asked the man, "Would you like to become a Christian?" The scholar replied something like this: "Christianity appeals to me very much. I surely would like to meet one some day and then maybe I would become one too." The missionary said, "Well, I am a Christian." "Oh, pardon me, but you cannot be a Christian. I read where a Christian is a follower of Jesus, and He says, 'A new commandment I give you that you love one another' and I have heard you several times say unkind things about others; I cannot conclude that you are a Christian." The missionary felt deeply that he had failed and he was broken up and confessed his sin to the scholar and to the Lord. When the scholar left, the Christian wondered if he would ever come to Christ. The day the missionary was leaving China , the scholar came to him and asked him to please baptize him into Christ.

You see from this how a lack of love has an adverse effect on the unsaved. By the same measure, if we manifest a true spirit of brotherly love, those who know not Christ will be drawn to us and to Him.

Love assures us we are saved

In 1 John 3:14 and 4:12, 13, we read:

We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death . . . No one has see God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He is us, because He has given us of His Spirit.

From these verses we learn that love for Christians, or lack of it, is a crucial test as to whether we are saved or not. Do we love the Lord's people: do we love their company, their visits; are we interested in their welfare? Do we seek to help them along life's pathway as opportunity arises? If we do, rest assured we are on the right path, and we are His obedient children. 1 John 4:12 says of such "God abides in us" and His love has been "perfected in us." Verse 13 says that “He has given us of His Spirit.” Some Christians worry about whether they have received the Holy Spirit². You can be sure that no one manifests this love of Christ for His people apart from the indwelling of the Spirit of God. No need for a Christian to be troubled, to love God's children with all our heart is certainly a work of the Holy Spirit within us. While we can know from this that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren, we can also know that if we lack this love, we are not pleasing to God. 1 John 3:14 says, "He who does not love his brother abides in death."

Footnotes:

¹ For more information on small group meetings, see Small Group Bible Study in Additional Resources section of StudyJesus.com.

² For more information on the Holy Spirit, see God the Spirit in A Religion Library section of StudyJesus.com.