New International Version
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13: 35
By experience, wherever there are genuine products, there are bound to be counterfeits. These counterfeits tend to appear genuine to the eyes of the undiscerning. This is because they take so much resemblance to the original and genuine. The major difference, however, is that they are of low quality and standard and may not function effectively as the original. Counterfeit products cause a lot of damage. They cause heavy financial loss to manufacturers of original products and a lot of harm and loss to the end users. – By W.F Kumuyi.
Sometimes, we see people tell others that someone they know is not kind. Why, you ask someone will ask. We are all unkind in some moments. They have an expectation of love from that person. They are looking for the nature of God in that person, and God is love and love is patient and kind. The unmet expectation from a person when not realized in action causes people to lose heart. I often heard people say some pastors were rude to them, and their expectation is that a pastor should not be rude, and it is true. but also, our expectation is from the lord, because it is God that dwells in us to do his good pleasure. Once the very nature of God is not inside a person; it will be hard not impossible to walk out love. I once had a foreign friend who when he came to my country to work was very careful not to overspend not because they were poor or something. They just felt they were investing all their money in another person country. The folly was when this person was drunk; they ended up spending more than they normally will spend and even tipping the waiter. And I applied my mind to wisdom that day and realized the folly and madness in human heart. So, I said the righteous and the wicked and all they do are in Gods hand.
As Jesus addressed his disciples in the Bible passage for today preparatory to his departure from them, He departure from them, he commands them to love one another genuinely. Love, according to him is the proof that will identify them as his disciples and attract others to their fold. It is what will mark them out as being genuine and not fake.
When people even get kindness and smear at kindness, it’s because there’s been hardening in the heart probably because of persecution, pain or unforgiveness they have seen from others and can’t see God anymore. So even if they see the love God in someone being kind to them; they can’t recognize it as love any more. We see this in the life of the pharisees and Sadducees. It later turns to jealous or hatred if that heart is not broken down.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to find true. Christians whose lifestyles match their claims. Expectedly, the world is getting more confused about what Christianity is all about because of the apparent contradictions they observe in the lives of so many professing believers because the true proof of the Christian faith is absent.
This does not take away from the fact that there are so many genuine Christians around. One piece of evidence that marks them out that Christ spoke about in the text is pure, fervent, operational, there will be an absence of vain glory, slandering, backbiting, backstabbing, immorality, cheating, hatred etc. Let love be sincere the scriptures say, this kind of love will authenticate the gospel and fuel the spread God’s word.
Love is God and the one Christian dialect that the world wants to understand.
