Am I a secret?
“By this all men will know that you are my disciples,
if you love one another.”
13 th chapter of JOHN verse 35
photo courtesy of PIXABAY
Does my life leave doubt in anyone’s mind that I am a Jesus disciple? Will people remember me as a Jesus follower? Or, is my life a secret? People know my story of drunken betrayal and subsequent recovery, but how many people have heard my story of resurrection? It is the story of a redeemed alcoholic following the man whom scriptures call Jesus of Nazareth. If there is one solitary nugget of truth in Christianity’s Bible, it is the narrative set down by writers in the 1st and 2nd centuries as a blueprint to live life in peaceful co-existence with all of God’s creation, all of humanity and nature. It is the design by which a wretched, lost man can rediscover wholeness and learn to peacefully co-exist with himself and fellow man. It is a story of forgiveness and redemption attributed to the man called Jesus.
The nucleus of the Way, the Truth and the Life is ‘love for one another’ as written so simply yet eloquently in 13 John 34-35.
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.” NIV
Were we, the human species, to hold that one statement on our hearts in all our affairs, the world would know peace. There would not be deprivation, poverty or war. There would not be murder, genocide, or racism.
I can hear many of you saying, “Larry, that’s a nice dream, but it will never be reality.”
It starts with me – it starts with you. One by one we can find a better way to live in this world even as we are surrounded by intolerance and hatred, even as men despise and revile us because of the love we show for those of different color, those who live in distant lands, those who come to our border as refugees.
The Jesus story does not put qualifiers on the love which he taught us to practice in our lives. It is not written to love only those of same skin color, same nationality, same religion. No, the words say, “Love your fellow man as you love yourself.” Perfection is impossible, but willingness is necessary. The insanity of this world, of its politics and politicians is unimportant. The vile names hurled at us and the injury intended for us will be forgotten in the next chapter of life. All I want to hear when this chapter of life is closed are the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
I want to be known as a disciple. I don’t want my discipleship to be a secret. How about you?
lpb quest - the twilight dance 