Changed by the love of Christ

Living as disciples of Jesus means more than just saying the right words. It means living the right way. It means letting the love of Christ fill our lives. His love is to shape our attitudes. His love is to inspire our actions.

The importance of having love in all that we do is emphasized in a modern song, entitled, “Witness”: “I witnessed to a man today. I witnessed to his wife. I told them ’bout the way and I told them ’bout the life. I told them that they needed to surrender to the Lord. I told them ’bout the power of His double-edged sword. I witnessed to a drunkard outside a tenement. I told him he was shameful and he needed to repent. I witnessed to a blind men beggin’ money on the street. I put a tract into his cup and did not miss a beat. I passed out all the tracts with all the Scripture underlined. I handed one to each and every one that I could find. I’d shove one in their hands and I’d walk on to the next. I must have reached a hundred souls with my salvation text. I gave out little Bibles, with the Gospel of St. John, into a hundred hands before my Bibles were all gone. I told each one I met the words of John 3 verse 16, and sandwiched in a little bit of Matthew in between. I finished out the day and yet I was not satisfied. And, on my way back home, it hit me, and I almost cried. I’d given them the message and I’d given them a little shove, but I’d missed the most important thing. I had not given love.” (from Chuck Girard’s album, “The Stand”).

All that we do may sound very impressive, but, without love, it is nothing – nothing at all. Living as a disciple of Jesus does not mean being a “Bible thumper.” It means loving Jesus and loving others with the love of Jesus. We are not called to hit people with a book. We are to love them with the love of Jesus. We are not to bombard them with words. We are to show them the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. Words have their place, but we must practise what we preach. In our everyday life, we must live out the love of Christ. Love – this is what really makes the difference. Love – this is what really draws men and women to Jesus Christ.

A well-known atheist, Nietzsche, once said, “His disciples will have to look more saved if I am to believe in their Saviour.” This is very challenging. The only “Bible” many people ever read is the “Bible” of our lives. They never read the Bible we carry with us to Church, but they watch how we live our lives. They watch like a hawk, and they make up their minds about Christianity on the basis of what they see in Christians. A Marxist writer, Machovec, has pointed out that “critics practically never reproach Christians for being followers of Christ, but … for not being such” (A Marxist Looks At Jesus, cited in H. Kung, On Being a Christian, p. 558).

1 Corinthians 13 is the most well-known Bible passage on the theme of Christian love. When we read 1 Corinthians 13, it is most important that we understand that true Christian love is not something which comes naturally to us. True Christian love is nothing less than the love of God: “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:5). True Christian love is not something which arises from deep within our own hearts. It is the love of God which has been poured into our hearts by God Himself. True Christian love grows in us as we allow our lives to be brought under the control of Jesus Christ. In 2 Corinthians 5:14, the Apostle Paul wrote, “The love of Christ controls us. The love of Christ constrains us.”

The life, filled with Christian love, is the life which is controlled by the love of Jesus Christ. The life which is controlled by the love of Christ will be a life of service, a life constrained by the love of Christ – constrained to reach out to others with His love.

When our lives are controlled by the love of Christ, there will be both love for God and love for our neighbour – not one without the other, but both together. We will offer praise and worship to God. We will give ourselves in the service of needy mean and women. Through our words and actions, we are to show the love of Christ. We cannot be content with words only, for words without actions are dead.

Let us live for Christ. Let us speak for Christ. Let us pray that the love of Christ will shine brightly in our lives, as a light which draws men and women to the Saviour.