Known By Our Love

Known By Our Love

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

(John 13:34-35, KJV)

What a powerful message given in this passage. Jesus tells his followers that they shall be ‘known’ by the love that they display towards one another. In other words, Jesus’ desire is that they be known for the love that they possess and display to the world. The New Living Translation states: “ Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

Now, I want you to think deeply about what Jesus is saying here. What you are ‘known’ for is your chief characteristic or trait that people define you by. Jesus is saying that your brand (A distinguishing symbol, mark, logo, name, word, sentence, or a combination of these items that companies use to distinguish their product from others in the market) should be love. When people think of you and I, as followers of Christ, they should immediately associate us with ‘love.’ The same way that we associate McDonald’s with fast-food or Wal-Mart with low prices, Christians are to be ‘known’ by their love and associated with it, inseparably.

For thousands of years the church has fought to be known by many things such as doctrine, denominations, faith, healing, social issues, ecclesiastical titles, etc. However, Jesus did not mention any of these as being be our chief message, brand, and/or identity. Love is what followers of Christ are to be ‘known’ as, or identified with. Let’s make it our aim to be ‘known’ as ‘loving Christians’ people that sincerely love God and others…this is our brand, our identity, and the message that should be clearly articulated to the rest of the world…for ‘Love Is Your Greatest Gift.’

Lyndon J. Batiste

Batiste Ministries

www.batisteministries.org