Motivation for Christian Living
Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, that you love one another” (John 13: 35).
This text brings to mind the thoughtful question, “If you were arrested on the charge of being a Christian would there be enough evidence to convict you?”
It is time for every Christian to get involved in a full-court press of love for Jesus Christ. It is such love as described by Tertullian, a pagan born in Rome, converted to Christianity who later had close ties to the church in North Africa in the Second Century (ca. AD 192), wrote of the Christians of his day, “The heathen are wont to exclaim with wonder, see how these Christians love one another! for they [the heathen] hate one another; and how they [the Christians] are ready to die for one another! for they [the heathen] are more ready to kill for one another.”
They did not simply articulate the gospel, they lived it as an example. We should exemplify the truth as defined in a poem by Edgar Guest entitled:
“I’d Rather See A Sermon.”
“I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day;
I’d rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way.
The eye’s a better pupil and more willing than the ear,
Fine counsel is confusing, but example’s always clear;
And the best of all the preachers are the men who live their creeds,
For to see good put in action is what everybody needs.”
Jesus left us the challenge to love one’s “neighbor as yourself.” In Matthew 22: 35 – 39, He responded to a lawyer’s question about “Who is my neighbor?” by telling the story of the Good Samaritan, and asking which character was a neighbor. The answer, “The one who showed mercy.” Love depends on the subject, not the object. “I,” the subject, “love,” the active verb, “you,” the object.
There is much to be gained by giving love. God’s word is always right in telling us what to do and not to do. The world often fails to see the way clearly.
Man’s foresight is often wrong. In 1899, “Literary Digest” predicted the “horseless carriage would never come into a “common use as thy bicycle!”
In 1902, “Harper’s Weekly” said, “The actual building of roads devoted to motor cars is not for the near future.”
In 1948, “Science Digest” predicted, “Landing and moving around on the moon offers so many serious problems that it may take science another 200 years to lick them.”
The love of which God’s word speaks is ageless and advantageous. The Bible emphasizes that loving others is a core Christian principle, and the personal benefits of doing so include fulfilling God’s law, experiencing joy, and being seen as a disciple of Jesus. Pattern love even if it isn’t an instinct until it becomes your nature. Don’t just look for easy objects to love. Envision the difficult ones as having on a sign reading, “I am whosoever.”