Do They Know Us By Our Love ?

Love was what shocked the ancient Roman world so much that they paid attention to the new movement of Jesus followers. Christians loved one another like nothing the Romans had ever experienced. 

Sadly it appears that in American Christianity today, we are known more by our anger and our arguments.

In recent years I have become increasingly stunned by the way we treat each other. Much of it these days is online which keeps us from ever needing to sit with a brother or sister, and look in their eyes and actually listen to another’s point of view.   Many seem to have a need to be right about every detail of their theology and to make sure everyone else knows they’re wrong if they disagree. 

Now the truth matters.  

Doctrine matters. 

But that’s not what Jesus said is most important.

Jesus was asked directly about this in Matthew 22 and His response was that the greatest and most important thing in our life is to love God. The second is to love our neighbor. And then He said:

“On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭22‬:‭40‬

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Wow! All of the truth of Scripture, according to Jesus, depends upon love! If we don’t have love we are empty, clanging cymbals.  (1 Corinthians 13)

This week the denomination that I’ve been a part of for all of my Christian life will meet in Orlando, Florida for their yearly convention. 

And we will argue again. A lot.

Those arguments will be about what we believe, and belief matters.

But according to Jesus what we do matters more.  Love matters more. 

When we try to make the details of what we believe more important than loving people, we end up in a mess. And then our contentious arguments about what the Bible says in one place causes us to completely ignore what the Bible says in another

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For instance, at the meeting this week of the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest expected argument is on the role of women in ministry.  Much of that argument will come out of the meaning of a passage in I Timothy 2. However, directly before the passage about women,  the apostle Paul says:

“I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling;” ‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭2‬:‭8‬

Oops! We’re not doing too well with that word from God, are we? I don’t anticipate any motions made about our sinful arguments!

So we will slander each other, which is strictly forbidden in Scripture. 

We will sue each other, which is strictly forbidden in Scripture.

And we will do a lot of other stuff to each other that the Bible forbids.

So for all of us, whether at a denominational meeting or just in our daily lives at home or work, what if we asked God to fill us with love for one another?

Let’s do this first before we discuss our doctrine. 

Perhaps we would then understand the Bible better and agree on more of it, If we just loved the Author and those He gave His life for more.

The following illustrates how the early believers accomplished this.

A philosopher named Aristides wrote to the Roman emperor, Trajan to explain to the emperor about what he saw in this new group of people called Christians:

“But Christians… show kindness to those near them; they do good to their enemies… if one of them has bondsmen and bondswomen through love towards them they persuade them to become Christians, and when they have done so, they call them brethren without distinction. They do not worship strange gods, and they go their own way in all modesty and cheerfulness. Falsehood is not found among them; and how they love one another… And he who has, gives to him who has not, without boasting. And when they see a stranger, they take him into their own homes and rejoice over him as a very brother… And if they hear that one of their number is imprisoned or afflicted on account of the name of their Messiah, all of them anxiously minister to his necessity… And if there are any among them that are poor and needy, and they have no spare food, they fast for two or three days in order to supply to the needy their lack of food… Such, O King… is their manner of life… And verily, this is a new people, and there is something divine in the midst of them.” 

Lord, help me to look more like this! Help your people in this nation to live more like this.

Show us your truth.

But even more importantly, show us how to love. 

As Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “Your life as a Christian should make unbelievers question their disbelief.”  

By John Avant

President of Passion Promise Ministries