Todd Johnson
Family Pastor
John 13:35
“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
In my immediate family, I am one of two believers so when we are all together, I know how important it is that I try to be “Jesus with skin on” to my family. The best way I model this is by loving others. I confess that I don’t do this well all the time. There are people who I just don’t want to love because of the hurt or anger they have caused me. Is that the right attitude to have…absolutely not. I am being vulnerable with you and sharing that I have a difficult time loving all people all the time. It hurts my soul to think about the times in my life where I didn’t model Christ well to a non-believer because of the way I talked about someone or shared my bitterness toward another person.
This verse is a gentle reminder to me that I am to love others as Christ loved me. I want to be known as one of Christ’s disciples and to spread the gospel, the good news to people that I encounter every day. How well are you loving the people in your life? When you read this verse, who does God put on your mind that you know you need to do a better job of loving? Loving a person doesn’t mean you have to be best friends with them or even hang out with them. The Lord wants us to be kind and loving regardless of how a person might treat you. I can think of two people that I am really struggling with wanting to love. My hope is that I will begin praying for them instead of bashing them and as I continue to do that, I will be able to love them. Let’s make it our goal to love others and be an example of Christ to people. You might be the only picture of Jesus a person ever sees.