Will " they" know we Christians by our LOVE?

I dream of a Church { and a Diocese} that when people who are NOT part of our faith community meet us, they will know we are Christians by our agape LOVE .

This love is not the romantic kind of love that is shared between two partners. I'm talking about the agape love that our LORD commands that we share with each other & the people with whom we come into contact on a daily basis.

How can we, as a community of faith, show our agape LOVE towards each other? How can we show LOVE to the stranger who finds him/herself among us on any given day?

The Gospel of John is very specific  on this matter. John 13:34-35 records Our LORD Jesus Christ as saying::

"I give you a new commandment, that you love one another Just as I have loved you, you should love one another. By this , everyone will know you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." 

Jesus says the word LOVE four times in that short passage. 

How do people in our communities know we are Christians by our love for one another? How would they know we are disciples of the risen LORD by our love for people in our community?


Often I am reminded of the simple three part equation for evangelical discipleship: find a friend, be a friend, & then bring a friend to Church. All the " programs " that the Church can create are well & good, but if we do not build upon the foundation of John 13--we will not work towards fulfilling the Great Commandment.

Amen.