Tag Archives: they will know you by your love

December 1, 2020 · 5:57 AM

Loving Like Jesus

In Matthew 22, the Sadducees had tried to trap Jesus with a question and failed. The Pharisees then decided to give it a try. They asked Him which one out of all the commandments was the greatest. In verses 37-40, Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments” (NLT). They agreed with Him on that answer. If you love others the way you love yourself, you won’t break any of the other ones.

During the Last Supper, Jesus got up from the table, put on an apron and washed the disciples’ feet. Of course Peter objected and was then corrected. Afterwards, in John 13:34 Jesus said, “So I give you now a new commandment: Love each other just as much as I have loved you” (TPT). I find it interesting that He gave a new commandment that was slightly different than the first one. Instead of loving others the way we love ourselves, we should love others the way He loves us. Jesus was saying His love for us was greater than our own love for ourselves. He was also pointing out how He demonstrated that love. In all three commandments mentioned here, the love produces behaviors in the individual.

Think of His behavior that night. Knowing that Judas was about to betray Him, Peter was about to deny Him and the others were going to run away in His darkest hour, His love for them still reached for a towel. More than that, His love gave Him the strength to endure a night of torture and ultimately dying for each of their sins. Even after the resurrection, He went to all of them with the purpose of restoring the relationship. Loving others the way Jesus loved us is definitely more than we love ourselves. It’s a love that fulfills your end of the relationship, pushes through in even the hardest time and reaches out to restore others. It’s when we demonstrate this kind of love, the one greater than self love, that others will know that we are truly His disciples.

Photo by Emmanuel Phaeton on Unsplash

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March 6, 2018 · 6:01 AM

The Seeds Of Good Deeds

When you think of Christians who are known for their good deeds, Mother Teresa usually tops the list. She is someone who gave her life to those who were less fortunate than herself. While she is certainly the most famous, she’s not the only Christian to be known for her good deeds. In fact, each of us should be doing things for others, not as a requirement for salvation, but as a fruit of it. Giving to others should spring out of our love for God.

When I look at my own circle of friends, I’ve got friends who care for orphans, feed the homeless, provide disaster relief around the world, are surrogate mothers for those who can’t have children, run foster homes, who give money sacrificially, are missionaries and so much more. Jesus said we would be known for our love and our fruit. To do good deeds, you don’t have to do big things that change the world. Just do something that changes the world for one person at a time.

Romans 7:4 says, “And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God” (NLT). When we become Christians, each of us are capable of producing a harvest of good deeds. The only way to get any harvest is by planting seeds. Look around you today. See where you can plant seeds of God’s love in other people’s lives through a good deed. This world needs to see more of God’s love, and you and I are the ones He’s called to do it.

Photo by Nina Strehl on Unsplash

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May 1, 2017 · 5:37 AM

The New Commandment 


In Matthew 22, some Pharisees asked Jesus what the greatest commandment was. In verses 37-39 Jesus responded, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the most important commandment. The second most important commandment is like it: Love your neighbor as you love yourself” (GNT). Jesus was very clear that we should love God first and then our neighbor. 

On the night before the crucifixion, at the Last Supper, Jesus gathered His disciples around for one final teaching. In John 13:34 Jesus said, “And now i give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples.” Jesus was adding that now we have to love other believers as well.

Sometimes the hardest people to love are within the walls of our churches. We find it easy to go out and love the homeless, the orphan, the destitute and the broken, but that’s not how Jesus said they would know we are Christians. Are those things necessary? Yes! Those are our neighbors. What’s difficult for so many of us is to love the person on the pew next to us or in the church across town. And that’s who Jesus commanded us to love on His last night. He knew we would struggle with this.

Jesus once said, “A house divided can’t stand.” Since that time, the enemy has tried to divide the Church. We’re divided into denominations and now we split churches because we grow to hate our brothers. If we’re going to be effective in loving our neighbors, we’ve got to love each other first. We need to put down our grudges and love each other instead. Until we get that right, how will the world know we are truly His disciples? If you’re holding a grudge, slandering or angry against another believer, you’ll find it’s difficult to obey the first two commandments effectively. Learn to love your brother (or sister) in Christ whether you think they deserve it or not.

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