They will know us by our LOVE

John 13:34-35
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

And a bonus scripture…

Ephesians 4:32
Be ye kind one to another. . . forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Remember when you were a kid and your mom or dad would say, "Now be nice to your brother." And you might not say it but you were at least thinking, "Why? He isn't being nice to me. It isn't fair that I have to be kind to him when he's being mean to me." Ok, well at least that is what I was thinking.  

As a believer in Christ, at times your Heavenly Father (I know, I know - inclusive language)  says the same thing to you, "Be nice to your brother. . ." Our human tendency is to shout, "No! I don't want to! He isn't treating me nicely. It isn't fair that I have to be kind to him when he is being mean to me." Still God says, "Be kind to one another." In fact, God goes on to say, "Love one another as I have loved you." And when you ask, "Why,?" He replies, "So others will see that you follow me."

Do you remember the hymn that says, “they will know that we are Christians by our love.”  There is also a book, “A Mark of A Christian,” that says the same concept but the author concludes that the world has a right to judge the authenticity of Christ's claims to be the Messiah, the Savior, the Son of God, by what they see in the lives of His followers. Was Jesus the one who could change lives? Are the lives of His followers different than those of the world? Do they truly love one another in difficult times?

Loving one another includes being willing to respectfully confront one another when necessary, to work to find solutions to disagreements, and to forgive those who hurt you. That means giving up your desire to be angry and to get back at the offender. The secret on how to do that… well, it lies in abiding in Christ.  Because when we do abide in Christ, marvelous things happen in us and around us.  

Blessings on the journey

Rev. Imani N. Dodley