“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35
Love is the signifying factor that we belong to Christ.
1 John 3:18 instructs us, as dear children in Christ, not to love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. So how do we do that as a body of believers?
1 John 3:16-17 describes it well —
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?”
It’s not likely you’ll be called on to lay down your life, but you will have opportunities to provide for others that are less fortunate than you.
Thabiti M. Anyabwile, in his book What Is a Healthy Church Member? states that,
“The local church is the place where love is most visibly and compellingly displayed among God’s people. It’s where the ‘body of Christ’ is most plainly represented in the world.”
Put love into action, trusting God’s Spirit for the ability to do so. Participate in giving to others through a ministry at your church. Help start a food bank that provides for the hungry in your area. Adopt a single mother in your community and provide school supplies, Christmas gifts, etc. Or it can be as simple as giving to your church’s benevolence fund.
Father, give me opportunities this week as a member of the body of Christ to love in deed and in truth so the watching world will be drawn to Christ as I, along with other believers, act to meet their needs in your strength. Amen.
“And those who are wise – the people of God – shall shine as brightly as the sun’s brilliance, and those who turn many to righteousness will glitter like stars forever” Daniel 12:3
Did it ever occur to you that as a child of God you are to radiate in your countenance the beauty and glory of God?
Have you ever considered the inconsistency of having a glum expression while professing that the Son of God, the light of the world, dwells within you?
Proverbs 15:13 reminds us that a happy face means a glad heart; a sad face means a breaking heart.
When missionary Adoniram Judson was home on furlough many years ago, he passed through the city of Stonington, Connecticut. A young boy, playing about the wharves at the time of Judson’s arrival, was struck by the missionary’s appearance. He had never before seen such a light on a man’s face.
Curious, he ran up the street to a ministers’ home to ask if he knew who the stranger was. Following the boy back, the minister became so engaged in conversation with Judson that he forgot all about the lad standing nearby.
Many years later that boy – unable to get away from the influence of what he had seen on the man’s face – became the famous preacher, Henry Clay Trumbull. One chapter in his book of memoirs is entitled, “What a Boy Saw in the Face of Adoniram Judson.”
A shining face – radiant with the love and joy of Jesus Christ – had changed a life. Just as flowers thrive when they bend toward the light of the sun, so shining, radiant faces are the result of those who concentrate their gaze upon the Lord Jesus Christ.
May we never underestimate the power of a glowing face that stems from time spent with God. Even as Moses’ countenance shone, may your face and mine reveal time spent alone with God and in His Word.
Bible Reading: Matthew 5:13-16
Matthew 5:13-16 New International Version (NIV)
Salt and Light
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Thought: I will spend sufficient time with the Lord each day to insure a radiant countenance for the glory of God and as a witness to those with whom I have contact each day.
