John 13.35
“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
It is possible that you recognize the title of this devotional from a book written by Francis Schaeffer. The message that Schaeffer sought to communicate is that love “is the mark Christ gave Christians to wear before the world. Only with this mark may the world know that Christians are indeed Christians and that Jesus was sent by the Father”.
It was a point made centuries earlier by a Scotsman by the name of Hugh Binning, who called Christian love the “badge that Christ left to his disciples: if we cast this away on every disagreement, we disown our Master, and disclaim his token and badge.” Both Binning and Schaeffer refer to Christ’s words in John 13:35 that “love for one another” is the way by which all men will recognise Christ’s disciples.
In Ephesians Chapter 3, Paul prays that we would be “rooted and grounded in love,” and he prays that we would have deep knowledge of how the love of Christ operates in us and through us. Clearly, love is the foundation—the very heart—of the Christian life.
Christians are called to be like their Father in the way they love people. Binning said “there is nothing in which he resembles him more than in this, to walk in love towards all men, even our enemies.”
Jesus proclaimed this very thing in the Sermon On the Mount: “But I say to you, Love your enemies, bless those that curse you, do good to those that hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use you, and persecute you, that you may be the children of your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:44-45).
It is with great sadness that we must say that Christians have not always presented an inviting picture of love to the world. Too often we have failed to show the beauty of authentic Christian love. As a result, many people are turned off by and turn away from Jesus.
Schaeffer wrote: “It is possible to be a Christian without showing the mark, but if we expect non-Christians to know that we are Christians, we must show the mark.”
In our era of global violence and sectarian intolerance, the church needs to respond anew the great commandment. More than ever, the church needs to respond compassionately to a needy world. More than ever, we need to show the mark.
In commenting on the story of the Good Samaritan, Schaeffer says:
“What then shall we conclude but that as the Samaritan loved the wounded man, we as Christians are called upon to love all men as neighbors, loving them as ourselves. Second, that we are to love all true Christian brothers in a way that the world may observe. This means showing love to our brothers in the midst of loving our brothers when it costs us something—great or small our differences—loving them even under times of tremendous emotional tension, loving them in a way the world can see. In short, we are to practice and exhibit the holiness of God and the love of God, for without this we grieve the Holy Spirit. The love and the unity it attests to is the mark Christ gave Christians to wear—and the unity it attests to—love before the world. Only with this mark may the world know that Christians are indeed Christians and that Jesus was sent by the Father.”
Amen!
