By Our Love

There’s an old song , maybe it’s considered a Hymn, but it goes like this:

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
And we pray that all unity may one day be restored
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love

It continues on to say how those around us will know we are Christians, by our love.  By our love…that just echoes in my mind.  It seems to be more common that they know we are Christians by our words, or by our judgment, maybe even by our refusal to associate with them.  Sometimes the world knows we are Christians by our hatred or lack in love.  They know we are Christians by the way we turn our nose up at them, or walk by them as if they didn’t exist.  I love the line, we pray that all unity may one day be restored.  Do we pray for that?  What would true unity look like in the body of Christ?  Does society know we are Christians by our love?  The song goes on to say:

We will work with each other, we will work side by side
And we'll guard each one's dignity and save each one's pride
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love

By our love, by our love

And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love

I’ve been replaying this song in my head over the last few months.  It came to mind multiple times in dealing with questions from non-believers.  Questions about horrible things that have been said and done to them by Christians.  One of my friends said, “is this really what you believe in?  This kind of thing, these harsh words about the trial that I’m going through because if this is it I’m not interested in this”.  This caused great pause in my life.  Do they know we are Christians by our love?  Or do they know we are Christians because we combat their problems  by blaming it on Satan’s work in their life.  Do they know we are Christian’s because we talk and talk about grace and love but never show it?  Did you take them a meal to love on them or did you tell them they needed to pull themselves up by their boot straps and jump in to this hole they dug themselves.  Come on ya’ll where’s the love, where’s the unity, where’s the Jesus in us? 

The last sentence of this song simply says:

The evidence of Christ in us

I failed at this last year.  I had the opportunity to show someone a love that passes all understanding and I blew it.  I failed them and now I may have lost the opportunity to show someone real love.  A love where you don’t earn it but it is just freely given.  A love that doesn’t count for wrongs but shows immense grace.  I let an opportunity to overflow the fountain of love poured out on me by my Savior on to some else because I was scared and uncomfortable.  Now I may never get that chance and they may never know the love of Jesus and that’s on me.  I don’t want people around me to know that I’m a Christian because I judge them or look down on them. I want them to know because I am radiating JOY and LOVE so brightly and so uncontainable that they can’t help but want to know more.  I want to feed them and clothe them and give them what I have to show them the love that I feel bursting out of me.  When I talk and sing about the man that lifted my head and said Go and Sin no more, when any other person would have left me to rot.  People, they will never get it if it comes out of hate, disgust, blame and self righteousness.  They will only get it if it is an overflowing extension of the love poured out in blood dripping off of the Cross.

They will know we are Christians by our love.

Go.  Love. Unify. Overflow. Pour out and Pour into. 

Because we are beautifully, fearfully and wonderfully made by the creator of all of those things and He loves us immensely! Let us go and Love others.

Praying for you this week as you show God’s love in you to everyone you see!  Friends, If you do not know the love that I speak of please reach out to me so that I can tell you more about it.

Much love,

Chrystan