So, You call Yourself a Christian?
By Ian Biss 9/26/01
Intro...
I read about a young man who was determined to win the affection of a lady who refused to even talk to him anymore. He decided that the way to her heart was through the mail, so he began writing her love letters. He wrote a love letter every day to this lady. Six, seven times a week she got a love letter from him. When she didn’t respond, he increased his output to three notes every twenty-four hours. In all, he wrote her more than seven hundred letters...
...And she wound up marrying the postman.
Love sure can be fickle, don’t you think?
But what does love have to do with calling yourself a Christian?
Everything!!
Love is the one quality that separates the Christian from the rest of humanity. Love is the reason Christ came, suffered, died, and was resurrected again, and love is what motivates the Christian to be separated from a world of hate.
Read Text, John 13:34-35
This passage is part of some of the last instruction that Jesus will give to His disciples, before His crucifixion. Needless to say, this is some of the most important teaching that we who call ourselves "Christian" will ever receive. And that teaching is pretty clear, He says that His disciples are to...
I. Love one another, vs 34
Exposition
Love one another! Hmmmmmmmmm, how about that? You and I are supposed to love one another. You and the person you are sitting next to... are supposed to love one another. You and your spouse... are supposed to love one another. You and members from other churches... are supposed to love one another. You and your children... are supposed to love one another. You and your parents... are supposed to love one another.
Application
I know what you’re thinking, you’re saying to yourself, I love all those people, all those other believers, I love them, I sure do!
Then the question I wish to ask you is this. Have you proven to them that you love them?
Be careful before you answer, roofs have been known to fall in.
Proof of love comes in many shapes and sizes, love may require you to dig deep within your heart to accept others.
Illustration
The phone rang in a high society Boston home. One the other end of the line was a son who had just returned from Viet Nam and was calling from California. His folks were the cocktail-circuit, high society type. The boy said to his mother, "I just called to tell you that I wanted to bring a buddy home with me." His mother said, "Sure, bring him along for a few days." "But, mother, there is something you need to know about this boy. One leg is gone, one arm’s gone, one eye’s gone, and his face is quite disfigured. Is it all right if I bring him home?"
His mother said, "Bring him home for a few days." The son said, "You didn’t understand me, mother. I want to bring him home to live with us." The mother began to make all kinds of excuses about embarrassment and what people would think...and the phone clicked.
A few hours later the police called from California to Boston. The mother picked up the phone again. The police sergeant at the other end said, "We just found a boy with one arm, one leg, one eye and a mangled face, who has just killed himself with a shot in the head. The identification papers on the body say he is your son."
* Quoted from, The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart, Charles Swindoll
Some times you may have to dig very deep when you love others. Then, at other times all love requires is just to be there when those you love hurt.
Illustration
Sam Rayburn was Speaker of the House of Representatives longer than any other man in our history. There is a story about him that reveals the kind of man he really was.
The teenage daughter of a friend of his died suddenly one night. Early the next morning the man heard a knock on his door, and, when he opened it, there was Mr, Rayburn standing outside.
The Speaker said, "I just came by to see what I could do to help."
The father replied in his deep grief, "I don’t think there is anything you can do, Mr. Speaker. We are making all the arrangements."
"Well," Mr. Rayburn said, "have you had your coffee this morning?"
The man replied that they had not taken time for breakfast. So Mr. Rayburn said that he could at least make coffee for them. While he was working in the kitchen, the man came in and said, "Mr. Speaker, I thought you were supposed to be having breakfast at the White House this morning."
"Well I was," Mr. Rayburn said, "but I called the President and told him I had a friend who was in trouble, and I couldn’t come."
* Nelson’s Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations, and Quotes, Robert J. Morgan
Sometimes loving others only requires missing breakfast with the President of the United States!
Friends, it doesn’t matter what it takes to love one another, what matters is that you, brother and sister in Christ, love one another.
And when you love one another, do it...
II. As Christ Loves You, vs 34.
Exposition
Jesus goes on to say that you should love as He loves. His are pretty big shoes to fill.
Christ loves you so much that he:
Left the comfort of Heaven in order to prove His love for you.
Became a man, leaving the glory of His Godly form to live in flesh and blood, with all it’s limitations, in order to prove His love for you.
Allowed Himself to be betrayed, by someone He loved, so He could prove His love for you.
Suffered ridicule, beatings, and torture, so He could prove His love for you.
He paid your debt, giving His own life, which is the only payment God the Father would accept to remove your sin, so He could prove His love for you.
He was then resurrected to live again, then He went to prepare a place for you, so He could prove His love for you.
John the Baptist said it best, "I am not worthy to untie His sandals."
Application
Jesus knows that you could never love like He does, but that doesn’t mean that you’re not supposed to try.
Friends, put yourself out there, take chances for your brothers and sisters in Christ. Get out of your comfort zones. Better yet, just get out. Pry yourselves away from your tv sets and go help your brothers and sisters. Show one another that you love each other.
Illustration
Miss Thompson taught Teddy Stallard in the fourth grade. He was a slow, unkempt student, a loner shunned by his classmates. The previous year his mother died, and what little motivation for school he may have once had was now gone. Miss Thompson didn’t particularly care for Teddy either, but at Christmas time he brought her a small present. Her desk was covered with well-wrapped presents from the other children, but Teddy’s came in a brown sack. When she opened it there was a gaudy rhinestone bracelet with half the stones missing and a bottle of cheap perfume. The children began to snicker but Miss Thompson saw the importance of the moment. She quickly splashed on some perfume and put on the bracelet, pretending Teddy had given her something special. At the end of the day Teddy worked up enough courage to softly say, "Miss Thompson, you smell just like my mother . . . and her bracelet looks real pretty on you too. I’m glad you like my presents." After Teddy left, Miss Thompson got down on her knees and prayed for God’s forgiveness. She prayed for God to use her as she sought to not only teach these children but to love them as well. She became a new teacher. She lovingly helped students like Teddy and by the end of the year he had caught up with most of the students. Miss Thompson didn’t hear from Teddy for a long time. Then she received this note: "Dear Miss Thompson, I wanted you to be the first to know. I will be graduating second in my class. Love, Teddy Stallard." Four years later she got another note: "Dear Miss Thompson, They just told me I will be graduating first in my class. I wanted you to be the first to know. The university has not been easy, but I liked it. Love, Teddy Stallard." Four years later: "Dear Miss Thompson, As of today, I am Theodore Stallard, M.D. How about that? I wanted you to be the first to know. I am getting married next month. I want you to come and sit where my mother would sit if she were alive. You are the only family I have now; Dad died last year. Love, Teddy Stallard." Miss Thompson went to the wedding and sat where Teddy’s mother would have sat, because she let God use her as an instrument of encouragement.
* Who Switched the Price Tags?, Tony Campolo, 1986, p. 69-72
You never know what one small, seemingly insignificant act of love will do, but realize this, loving other Christians, as Christ loves you will impact and enrich their lives and yours for the good of all!
III. All Men Will know that You are His, vs 35.
The test for a true Christian is right in this verse, if you love each other, people will know that you are His.
Application
If you love each other, people will know you are a Christian. Anyone here who says they belong to Jesus, should love anyone who says they know Jesus. All men know who you serve, if you love your Christian family, people will know that you are a Christian.
Illustration
One day at work, someone built a small set of steps that walk up to a platform, and they used bright shiny aluminum to cover the steps, but on the platform, they used a dull, dingy, used piece of aluminum that they had tried to polish up. So, here you had this beautiful new platform, with shiny steps, leading up to a landing that is dull and dingy. That is how Christianity is without love, it’s a beautiful set of new steps, topped off with an ugly piece of used aluminum.
Conclusion
Do you want people to recognize Victory Lighthouse Church, as being a church full of people who are like their Savior, loving, caring, and acting as a family of one?
Or would you rather people recognize the people of this church as being no different than they are; hateful, uncaring, and looking out for number one?
They will know we are Christians by our love. There is no getting around that fact, men will know we are Christians by the measure of our love for one another.
