(Linda and I bought these on our honeymoon.)
In July Linda and I fly to New York City, where I will preach six times at Faith Bible Church in Queens, and then teach from 9 - 4, for three days, in Faith Bible Seminary.
One of my messages will be on "Marks of a Disciple of Jesus."
I'm taking time today to review my notes. One mark is this: Disciples of Jesus love one another. But of course. That's the mark of a Christian, right? People will know we are Christians by our love. In John 13:34-35 Jesus says:
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
My life with Jesus began when God told me that He loves me. As much as my parents loved me (which was a lot!), I needed to be touched by the One who is love, whose love is without limits. That moment was transcendent and transforming.
The School of Jesus is a School of Love. All the power, and all the spiritual gifts and natural talents, are nothing if the love of God does not flourish in my heart.
In the 1970s I read Francis Schaeffer's classic book The Mark of the Christian. Love for one another IS THE SIGN of the real thing. In it Schaeffer writes:
"If Jesus has commanded so strongly that we love all men as our neighbors, then how important it is especially to love our fellow Christians.
If we are told to love all men as our neighbors—as ourselves—then surely, when it comes to those with whom we have the special bonds as fellow Christians—having one Father through one Jesus Christ and being indwelt by one Spirit—we can understand how overwhelmingly important it is that all men be able to see an observable love for those with whom we have these special ties.
Paul makes the double obligation clear in Galatians 6:10: “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.” He does not negate the command to do good to all men. But it is still not meaningless to add, “especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”
This dual goal should be our Christian mentality, the set of our minds; we should be consciously thinking about it and what it means in our one-moment-at-a-time lives. It should be the attitude that governs our outward observable actions." (pp. 16-17)
