We know that they are his disciples…
John 13:34-35 is probably one of the passages that is the easiest to understand, yet the hardest to obey:
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:34-35 ESV)
As we were travelling over our Christmas break, I asked my family the following question: “What did people do this year that showed you that they loved you?” Margaret, Jeremy, Miranda, and I had several different responses, so I thought I would list some of them here – in no particular order.
- Someone (or some people) bought a propane tank for us, had it installed, and had it filled with propane.
- A friend of ours spent extra time with our daughter, taking Miranda to a movie and having a spend the night party with her.
- Many, many friends brought us dinner without us requesting it when we were sick.
- One friend spent alot of money and time rebuilding the engine in our van. He and another friend also changed the oil for us a few times.
There are many other ways that people demonstrated their love for us over the previous year, which means they also demonstrated that they are disciples of Jesus Christ.
Did anyone demonstrate their love for you this year? If so, then they are demonstrating that they are disciples of Christ. Do you think that during the previous year you demonstrated to other people that you are a disciple of Christ?
Great topic! There is one time in particular this past year that someone had shown the love of God to our family. It was when I had my son, and I was very nervous because I had to have a C-Section. A local pastor that I had recently met showed up at the hospital to wait until my surgery was over to make sure everything went well. Well, we didn’t know he was coming. We barely knew him, but he remembered that I was having surgery that morning. It turned out that he was sent to the wrong waiting room and ended up waiting over three hours. What patience he had. He thought something had went wrong until he figured out he was in the wrong waiting room. After I came home he had his church members bring meals while I was recovering. We all felt very cared for by people we barley knew. It was God’s way of loving us through them.
Jamey,
Thank you for sharing more of your story with us. Its amazing how God showed his love for you (and all of us) through some of his children.
-Alan