How do you recognize Authentic Christians?
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you , so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
John 13:34-35 New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY’S VERSE…
Did you know there are “Fake” Christians. They aren’t really what they seem. So, how do you recognize the true followers of Jesus? How do you know who the true (Authentic) Christians are? How do you separate the true Christians from the one’s claiming to be Christian, but are really just religious people punching a time clock? Jesus said they (the Authentic Christians, the ones who are Christ-like) love each other just as He loved the disciples. In the immediate context, this means He was willing to give sacrificially and selflessly by dying for them on the cross, and He was also willing to love selflessly and practically by becoming their servant and even washing their feet to show them how they must be. His ministry reveals what a Christian is to be like, ALL the time, not just on Sunday mornings in church. In the book of Acts they met daily from house to house. Imagine if we all read, understood, and did the Gospels, and committed to love each other in the same way Jesus showed His love to His disciples! Are you a disciple of Jesus, a true (Authentic) Christian, or are you just a religious social (Counterfeit) Christian? You are a true (Authentic) Christian if you love the Brethren all the time and bear the fruit of a Christ-like life. Otherwise you’re only a social Christian, a religious counterfeit. Going to church doesn’t make a Christian just like going to McDonalds doesn’t make you a hamburger!
MY PRAYER…
Father of Compassion, Mercy, and God of all grace, I thank You for teaching me to love through the example of Your Son Jesus. May my words and actions reflect some resemblance of His love toward Your people today. May I learn to walk, talk and live the life that He lived everyday of my life. Father, help me to not be a religious counterfeit like the Pharisees and Sadducees. Through Christ, my Great and Glorious example, I pray.
Amen
