35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Jesus says the proof the world will use to determine whether or not you follow Him, is how you treat each other.
Based on that criteria alone, could you be convicted of being a Christian?
If you had to take off the Cross necklace, the christian T-shirt, the fish sticker off your car, and couldn't point to church attendance...would a jury convict you of following Christ because of your love for others?
Strip away all the external trappings - and honestly consider that question.
If , with no other information, the jury watched how you treat your family, how you treat the waiter at the restaurant, what you put on social media ....would they think you treat others in a way that marks you as a disciple of Christ?
Jesus says that loving each other is the only admissible evidence that the world will consider.
Let's be guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.... Lets go out and perform acts of kindness, give to those in need, offer forgiveness to those who have hurt us. This, and this alone validates our witness in the world's eyes, and earns us the right to be heard regarding our faith.
By the way, the world is right. If we love God, we will love each other - and it will show.
"You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving" - Robert Louis Stevenson
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