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. (35) By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples,
if ye have love one to another."
We sometimes want to set the boundaries as to what identifies a child of
God. I'm thankful that it is God's business and not mine. I do not have the
ability to look into anyone's heart to see what it contains. Yes, I do
understand that there are certain fruits that we, as children of God, are to
bear. But I also know that just as there are things in nature that happen which
cause a live tree to be unable to bear fruit in any given season, there are
times when our lives become unfruitful. I am thankful for this which Paul wrote
to Timothy: "Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure,
having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that
nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." (2 Timothy 2:19) Be
assured, God knows every one of His sheep by name.
That being settled in my mind, what is the one thing Jesus declared to be the
identifying mark of His disciples? This is quite a different subject than
the first paragraph. There must be a submissive and obedient heart in order to
be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Even in this, we somehow want to complicate that
matter and place our own identifying marks. Jesus left them one
commandment in order to be identified as His follower: "love one
another."
Sounds so simple, doesn't it? And yet even in this, we find times in
which it is difficult to show love for others. Quite honestly, it is
difficult to place a meaning on this love that Jesus commands His disciples to
exhibit. Without sounding too "Greeky", this love is more than the
phileo love which is a love that is exhibited by being friendly to others. It
is different from the love that is seen between man and woman which means to
dote after one another. It is certainly different than the eros love
which is strictly sensual. No, Jesus commands His disciples to love one another
in the same manner that God loves us: unconditionally. This agapao love is one
from the heart that is unselfish. There are no underlying conditions for this
love; rather than to show the glory and mercy of God in our own lives. This
love is exhibited by reaching out to help others without expecting anything in
return.
The ungodly world does not understand this type of love. The ungodly extend a helping hand in order to receive their own desires in return. The ungodly say, "You scratch my back. I'll scratch yours." Agapao love says, "I don't want anything in return" as the hand is extended to help another. Agapao love seeks the glory and favor of God over man. I am having to search deep in my heart this morning to ask: Am I a disciple of Jesus Christ?