Title: The Recognition Factor
Text: John 13:31-35
Thesis: Love is the identifiable feature of the follower of Christ.
Introduction
How do we recognize people? People have identifying features…
• We recognize Jimmy Durante or Carl Malden when we see them because they have prominent noses.
• We recognize rocker, Mick Jagger when we see him because he has large lips.
• We readily recognize Donald Trump when we see him because of his distinctive hair. It is interesting the presidential candidate can spend $400 on a haircut that is without distinction.
• We readily recognize television late night hosts… Jay Leno has a jutted chin and Dave Letterman has a gap between his from teeth.
And yes, I am aware that I did not include women in my introductory comments. My sense is that it would be ill advised to speak of a woman’s big nose, jutted chin, gappy teeth, or comb-over hair style.
In our text today, Jesus says to his followers, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” John 13:35 In other words, Jesus is saying that love is the identifying feature of a Christian’s identity.
Do agree or disagree with the following statement?
It is possible for Christians to live in the world without being recognized as Christians.”
When Bonnie and I were in the market for a car, we went to the auto dealership. I had done my homework online and we I knew what I was looking for… it did not turn out to be what Bonnie had in mind. However, we were both interested in certain features. We wanted seats and windows. We were hoping for an engine and transmission. Brakes. Most things were standard. But, there were numerous options… leather seats, sunroof, CD player, power windows and door locks. 2 wheel or 4 wheel drive. And then there was color…
However, when it comes to the Christian life, there may be many options but there is one standard feature. There is one feature that makes Christians recognizable.
I. Love is imperative to the life of the followers of Christ.
So now, I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other just as I have loved you, you should love each other. John 13:34 We would be correct in saying, love is a necessary expression of a Christian’s life.
A. Love is not the only evidence of spiritual life for the follower of Christ.
• Fruit - Galatians 5:22-23
• Gifts - Romans 12 and I Corinthians 12
B. Love is the preeminent evidence of spiritual life for the follower of Christ.
• The first and greatest commandment - Matthew 22:37-40
• The greatest - I Corinthians 13
• The summation of all commandments - Galatians 5:14
It is love that is the deciding evidence of one’s relationship with Jesus Christ and others.
II. Love is also the identifying mark of the followers of Christ.
Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples. John 13:35
A. Love is readily apparent because it is counter culture.
• It is not normal to express love to your enemies - Luke 6:27-36
• It is not normal to be nice - I Corinthians 13:4-7
• It is not normal to give up your life for just anyone – Romans 5:6-8 (John 13:34)
Doing nice things for people is not the norm…
Re’na Garcia is a 24-year-old wife and mother of two preschoolers and a full-time nanny for two other children. She leads a busy life, but her favorite part of the day is when she goes out to RAOK somebody’s world—as in performing "Random Acts of Kindness."
She and her husband, Aaron, are part of a growing network of Christians who seek to anonymously bless other people in the name of Jesus. They may:
• Leave a roll of quarters at the laundromat
• Pay for the person behind you at a drive-thru
• Leave grocery gift cards in mailboxes
• Pay rent for a family in need
• Hand out water or sports drinks on a biking trail.
She says, "People were drawn to Christ not because he stood on a mountain and preached," she says, "but because he filled their needs."
Actually, there nothing random about her kindness. Love may not discriminate, but it is always discerning. A loving attitude or action is always a conscious decision before it is an expression. Love acts out toward those for whom we have little or no affection, in situations that evoke less than gracious responses, and does so indiscriminately.
Interestingly enough, Jesus does not state that loving our enemies or our neighbors is the mark that will distinguish us as his followers before a watching world. He says, it is our love for one another that makes that impression.
B. It is readily apparent because it begins so close to home.
I wondered about that statement… it seems loving enemies would be nearly impossible, loving neighbors would be difficult but doable, and loving my fellow Christians would be a walk in the park. Easy!
We live in a country… in fact we live in a world that honors love for others. Whenever there is a natural disaster somewhere on the planet – everyone leaps to lend a hand to assist or send relief aid. If loving people whom we do not know and who live far away is the mark of a Christian – then everyone must be a follower of Jesus Christ.
The true mark of a Christian or a community of faith is not how much love is demonstrated from a distance, but how much love is demonstrated up close.
It doesn’t matter how much we love the people of New Orleans or the tsunami victims or the folks down in Holly whose homes blew a way a few weeks ago or the folks down in 5 Points… if we do not love one another.
Here is why. If my neighbor knows I am passionate about caring for the needs of the people of the world, but hears me verbally abuse my wife or my children or kick the dog, he will have absolutely no respect for me.
It is easy to generate a loving response for a distant need. It is easy to get up a group to go on a mission trip somewhere else. It is easy to help folks we don’t know. We don’t know if they are deserving or not. We don’t know if they have been responsible for their actions or not. We don’t know if they have done the unforgivable or not. We don’t know if they have mismanaged their resources. We don’t know if they will be appreciative of not. But, when we know folks… we can be pretty discriminating when it comes to loving. And people around us observe and make judgments about the reality of our faith based on if they recognize our attitudes and actions as loving, or unloving.
I am reading an historical novel titled Tallgrass by Sandra Dallas. It is a story based on life in a small rural community in Colorado where the Japanese were interned during WW II. Over 7,000 Japanese Americans were relocated to the Granda Relocation camp in southeast Colorado from California. Tallgrass is the name Dallas assigned to the 10,550 acre piece of land where the Granada Camp was built. It is the story about small rural community and how the people interacted with each other and the presence of the Japanese Americans who were thrust into their little corner of the world. It is a story that reflect the best of community life… and the worst. At it’s best the community is patriotic and the young men are proud in enlist to fight in a just war. The Jolly Stitchers make quilts and carry in cakes and hot dishes whenever and wherever there is a heart ache of loss. At its best families welcome the newcomers to their community. At its worst, the community tolerates cruelty and injustice. The newcomers are threatened and abused… and Mr. Reddick refuses to let his older daughter, Helen, come home to help his wife when his youngest daughter is brutally murdered, because she quit school and shamed the family when she married a beet worker named Bobby Archuleta. Her father did not want her to attend her little sister’s funeral, much less come home to comfort her mother. Mr. Reddick was not thought well of by his neighbors.
Everyone knows and no one approves when families and faith communities are unloving toward one another.
The valid question that can be asked in any family and any faith community is, just how far will you go to demonstrate love for one another?
If we do not love one another, anyone watching us has good reason to conclude that we are not Christians. Jesus said, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
Years ago, when speaker of the house Sam Rayburn heard he had terminal cancer, he shocked everyone when he announced he was going back to his small town in Bonham, Texas. People said to him: "They have the finest facilities in Washington, D. C. Why go back to that little town?"
Rayburn’s response speaks to the priceless importance of community. He said, "Because in Bonham, Texas, they know if you’re sick, and they care when you die."
If we truly love each other as Christ loves us, the world will mark that kind of love and have good reason to believe that we are indeed, followers of Jesus Christ.
