Known by your love?

Good morning! I hope you’ve had a great weekend and that you have hit the ground running this morning.

This past week my wife and I traveled to Corpus Christi, TX to meet with the staff and search committee of a church that has been considering me to be their pastor. We found the people that we met with to be very
warm loving and kind. Even though we did not know one another on a deep personal level we were none the less bound together by our bond of faith.

Jesus spoke to us about the bond of Christian faith when He said:

John 13:35 (NLT)
Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my
disciples."

I have had the opportunity to meet Christians around the world and each time I am taken back by this profound evidence of Christ’s presence. Even when there are cultural, personality and even language differences the presence of Christ still shines brightly. The joy of Jesus radiates in the countenance of each and every disciple of Christ.

One of the things that the world desperately seeks is love and acceptance. The theme song to the 80’s comedy “Cheers” lamented that “sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name and they’re always glad you came….” People look in a variety of directions looking for true love, but what they find is often shallow and
pretentious.

Today I want to challenge you to examine your love for one another. Is the glory of Jesus evident in your personal relationships? Do you allow His joy to overflow your life and spill over into the lives of those around you?

Your life may be the only glimpse of Jesus that anyone sees during this time of year. So let His love radiate through you.

Until next Monday, may God’s richest blessings be yours this week.

Carl