Characterized by love (Week 6:3)

Topic: Week 6- The new community: the body of Christ
Theme for 6 Weeks- Who is Jesus and what difference does it make?

Read John 13:34-35; Matthew 5:43-48

The idea we are thinking about this week is the “body of Christ,” which is, the church…or, new community (if “church” has a bad ring to it). We- this new community- are the body of Christ.

What are the characteristics of being the body of Christ? I’m noting only several; yesterday it was serving “the least of these.” Today, love. During these six weeks, I’ve mentioned love twice. Today, I’d like to see it from the framework of how this, love, let’s people in on knowing we are followers of Jesus.

How might people know that we are followers of Jesus (or have their curiosity heightened about faith and life in Jesus)? In this passage in John, Jesus says it is “when they see the love that you have for each other” (v. 35, The Message). This love for each other is something people can see, as Jesus notes.

I don’t know how you see it, but that appears quite true from my experience. People can tell if love is present.

Distinguishing mark #1: love for each other in the body of Christ- the new community you are part of.

Mark #2: love for enemies. Ouch. Here’s how Jesus calls his followers to also indicate they are his followers, i.e. the body of Christ: “You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. …If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.” (v.43-44, 46-47 The Message).

It’s easy (most of the time, at least!) to love those who love you. The distinguishing piece, in this area of love, is loving our enemies. That’s the work (a spiritually, disciplined life) of a lifetime and being connected close to Jesus (he “in us”).

So, another characteristic: love. And, two aspects, when lived out, point to Jesus and let others know that we are followers of Jesus: love for each other, and love for enemies.

This is part of our call. In a call to be this kind of community (body of Christ), Greg Boyd says, “This is what we are called to be: a community characterized by radical, revolutionary, Calvary-quality love; a community that manifests the love of the triune God; a community that strives for justice not be conquering but by being willing to suffer; a community that God uses to transform the world by providing it with an alternative to its own self-centered, violent way of existing.” (p. 122, The Myth of a Christian Nation).

So we might experience a more robust life and that others may see Jesus.

Question: How do you see yourself, today, in your “love life?”

Prayer: Lord, may your love in me continue to grow daily so that I display this more completely to my community of Jesus-followers. And, may it grow even more deeply that I display it to my enemies in whatever form they take. In the name of Jesus, Amen.