Love One Another: The Mark of Jesus’ People

We're starting a new series for a few weeks, probably about a month, okay?

And we're looking at the one another's in scripture. And so this is where we

go today as we look at love one another.

Jesus said, church, that the defining mark of his followers would be their love for one another.

Christian community begins with

sacrificial Christ-like love that chooses commitment over convenience.

So let's pray this morning as we dive in. Father, we ask that you'd open our

hearts to receive the command of Jesus with humility, with courage.

Lord, I pray you'd teach us to love the way you've loved us and shape our church

into a family that reflects your heart to the world. In Jesus' name, amen.

In just a moment, we'll be in John 13, verses 34 and 35, all right?

John 13:34

Most of us know what it feels like to be in a room and still feel alone.

You can sit in a crowded restaurant. You can walk through a busy store.

You can scroll through hundreds of updates on your phone, even attend church

on a Sunday morning and still carry that quiet ache of wondering,

does anybody really know me?

Does anybody even really notice when I'm gone? Does anybody really care?

And that's one of the strangest things of our time, that we're more connected

than ever in certain ways, right?

I mean, yet many people are still deeply lonely.

We can message somebody across the world in seconds, but we may not know the

names of the people living across the street.

We can follow people's lives online, see their vacations, see their meal options,

their opinions, their family pictures,

and still not have anyone we'll feel comfortable calling when life falls apart.

And if we're honest, that kind of distance can creep into the church too, can't it?

We can attend the same service, sing the same songs, hear the same sermon,

and then slip out without ever really entering into life together.

We can be polite without being present. Did you know that? We can smile without being known.

We can say, I'll pray for you, and then forget before we get to the car.

We can agree that Christian community matters while still building a life where

almost no one can get close enough to help us grow.

That's why this series matters. Over the next four weeks, as I said earlier,

we're going to talk about the one another commands in scripture.

Love one another, encourage one another, serve one another, and confess and pray for one another.

And these are not just decorative ideas for people who like small groups or

church potlucks, all that kind of stuff. But these are central practices,

if you will, of the Christian life.

And the Christian life, let me just say this, was never meant to be lived in isolation.

When Jesus saves, he brings us into a family, amen?

And a messy family sometimes, yes.

An imperfect family, definitely, a family with different backgrounds,

different personalities, different preferences, different stories,

different levels of maturity,

yet still a family formed by the Spirit of God.

And today, we begin with the command that sits at the center of it all.

I already said it, love one another.

And before we treat that as some sentimental or simple statement,

we need to remember where Jesus said it.

He didn't say this on a calm afternoon while everybody was getting along beautifully, did he?

He said it actually during a meal with his disciples who were confused,

proud, anxious, and about to scatter.

Judas was preparing to betray him. Peter was going to deny him.

The cross was near Eastwood. And in that room with all of that surrounding him,

Jesus gave his people the mark that would identify them to the world.

So we're going to step into John 13 and listen carefully to the words of Jesus.

Some of you have looked at this in Sunday school a little bit already.

John 13, verses 34 and 35, it says, A new command I give you, love one another.

John 13:34

As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

That brings us to the first point this morning. Love is the evidence of discipleship.

You know, it's important to notice who Jesus was talking to.

Again, he's speaking to his disciples.

These are the people who have walked with him, listened to him,

watched him heal the sick, feed the hungry, confront religious hypocrisy,

welcome sinners, teach with authority.

They've seen more of Jesus, you know, up close than almost anyone else.

And now Jesus tells them how the world will recognize them.

Notice what he doesn't say. Everyone will know you're my disciples if you have impressive knowledge.

Knowledge matters. We should love scripture. We should study truth and grow in wisdom.

But Jesus doesn't say everyone will know you're my disciples if your gatherings are excellent.

Excellence can honor God when it comes from a sincere heart.

He doesn't say that everyone will know that you're my disciples if your influence

just grows, your calendar's full, your reputation is strong,

or your religious activity is visible, right?

Jesus actually says that the world will know his disciples, what?

By their love for one another.

And let me just say, that should make us pause.

It really should. Because a lot of us have learned how to measure spiritual

life by other things, haven't we?

We measure by attendance, by how much we know, by how many Bible studies we've done,

by how many years we've been around church sometimes, by how strongly we can

defend a doctrine, by how disciplined we appear, by how busy we are in church activity.

And some of those things can be good. Some of them can be signs of growth.

Yet Jesus places love right at the center of the visible witness to his people.

So the evidence of discipleship is not just that we say true things about Jesus, is it?

It's that his life begins to show up in the way we treat each other.

That matters because the world is watching.

Your neighbors are watching. Your co-workers are watching. Your kids are watching.

People who have been hurt by church are watching.

People who are skeptical of Christianity are watching.

And many of them are not first asking, hey, can you explain every theological question I have?

Often they're just asking, is there anything real among you?

Do you actually live differently?

Does Jesus change the way you handle conflict, disappointment,

inconvenience, people who are hard to love?

Jesus says, don't miss this church. By this, everyone will know.

So the question for us becomes, I think, very personal. If someone watched the

way I love other believers, what would they conclude about Jesus?

That's not meant to crush us, by the way. It's meant to wake us up, right?

Because all of us, if we're honest, have gaps between what we believe and how we actually live.

We believe love matters, yet we can be easily offended, can we not?

We believe the church is a family, yet we can treat it like a weekly event.

We believe people need grace, yet we can withhold it when somebody annoys us

or disappoints us or doesn't meet our full expectations.

And Jesus, with deep love and complete authority, calls us back to what matters most.

The church becomes recognizable as the people of Jesus when love becomes visible among us. Amen?

That means that love can't remain a vague feeling in our heads, can it?

It actually has to take shape when we walk through those doors in that little

lobby out there, in small groups, in text messages, in hospital rooms,

in hard conversations, right?

In forgiveness, in happiness, in patience, in meals shared, in burdens carried,

and in the decision to actually stay engaged when convenience would tell us to drift.

If our love is the evidence, Eastwood, then the way we treat each other is part of our witness.

That brings us to number two today.

Jesus defines the standard of love.

I want you to take note of something important here as we move on.

Jesus doesn't say love one another and stop there. You know what he says?

He says, as I have loved you, so you must love one another. That changes it, doesn't it?

Changes everything as I have loved you.

Jesus is not leaving love up to our personal definition, is he?

He doesn't allow us to shrink love down to just being nice, friendly,

agreeable, or emotionally warm, does he?

You know where he points us to? He points us to his own life,

and he says, this is the pattern.

This is the standard. This is what love looks like among my people.

And again, think about the timing. John 13 here begins with Jesus washing the

disciples' feet. Remember that?

In that culture, I have to remind us that foot washing was the work of a servant.

People walked dusty roads in sandals and their feet were dirty, dirty.

It was lowly work. It was unpleasant work, the kind of work nobody was rushing to volunteer for.

Yet Jesus gets up from the meal, takes off his outer clothing,

wraps a towel around his waist, pours water into a basin, and begins washing his disciples' feet.

This just makes me like, wow. The Son of God kneels before his friends.

He washes the feet of Peter, who will soon deny him.

He washes the feet of disciples who've argued about greatness.

He watches the feet of men who still don't understand what he's doing.

And from what the text suggests, Judas is still there too.

And Jesus washes the feet of the one who will betray him.

That is the context, Eastwood, for as I have loved you.

Don't miss that. Jesus' love is humble.

It moves toward people instead of waiting for people to deserve it.

His love serves in practical ways. It doesn't need applause, does it?

It doesn't insist on being treated as important before it'll pick up the towel.

It gets low. It meets real needs. It enters uncomfortable spaces.

And soon after this moment, where's Jesus heading? To the cross.

So when he says, as I have loved you, he's also pointing towards sacrificial love.

Love that costs something, y'all love that gives itself love that remains faithful when it's painful,

that's where the command begins to press on us because many of us if we're honest

are comfortable with love as long as it stays convenient right.

We're willing to love when people are easy. We're willing to love when schedules line up perfectly.

We're willing to love when the other person is grateful, responsive,

emotionally healthy, and all that. Low maintenance, in other words.

We're willing to love when it doesn't require a difficult conversation,

an apology, a sacrifice of time, or the laying down of our preferences.

Then Jesus says those words, as I have loved you.

His love becomes the measure for ours. Now, let's be honest.

Loving like Jesus does not mean we never have boundaries, does it?

It doesn't mean we enable sin or we ignore harm or we pretend everything is fine when it isn't.

Jesus loved the truth. He lived with holiness.

He loved with wisdom. He confronted. He corrected. He called people to repentance.

And at the same time, though, his love was never shallow, never selfish, never disposable.

That's where we have to let the Spirit search us. Amen.

Some of us want community, but only on our terms.

We want people to be there when we need them, though we may not want to arrange

our lives to be there for them.

Others of us like the idea of church family until it gets complicated,

right? till family gets complicated.

Then we pull back. We avoid, we disappear.

We assume the worst. We let one awkward moment become a reason to detach.

Jesus calls us into something deeper than convenience.

As I've loved you, means that we learn to move forward with one another in humility.

It means that we practice forgiveness because why? Because Christ has forgiven us.

It means we serve without needing recognition.

It means we stay committed to the health of the body, even when our feelings are tired or bruised.

It means that we ask, what would love require of me here?

And then we listen for the Spirit's answer.

And maybe that question is one of the most practical things you can take with you today.

When you're frustrated with someone in your small group or small circle of friends

or whatever it might be, ask this question, what would love require of me here?

When you notice someone who's sitting alone, ask, what would love require of me here?

When you hear about a need in the church, ask, what would love require of me here?

When you're tempted to complain about someone instead of speaking to them with

gentleness and honesty, ask, what would love require of me here?

The command of Jesus, y'all, is simple enough for a child to understand,

and it's deep enough to reshape every relationship in our lives, is it not?

Number three, you ready? Biblical love is active, not passive.

Jesus says, love one another.

That means love is something we practice. It's something we do, in other words.

It has movement, words, choices, habits, and follow through.

A lot of people think of love mainly as what? Just a feeling, right?

And feelings are real, affection matters, warmth matters, enjoying people is a gift.

Yet biblical love is not dependent on whether we feel naturally drawn to somebody in the moment.

Biblical love acts for the good of another person because Christ has loved us first.

That's where the rest of the New Testament helps us see what love looks like

in everyday church life.

You know, Romans 12, 10 says this.

Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.

That means love gives honor, doesn't it? It notices the dignity of another person.

It refuses to treat people as interruptions, projects, or background noise, right?

In a church, families would honor sounds like listening carefully.

It looks like making room for somebody else's story.

It shows up when older believers actually value younger believers,

and younger believers value older believers.

It actually grows when people from different backgrounds learn to receive one

another as gifts from God Almighty.

1 Peter 4, 8 and 9 says this, Above all, love one another deeply,

because love covers a multitude of sins.

Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.

Love covers, amen? That doesn't mean love hides abuse or avoids truth.

It means that love doesn't keep a running list of every irritation and failure.

Love doesn't make weakness a headline. Love creates space for people to grow.

And then Peter mentions something else. He mentions hospitality.

That's wonderfully practical, isn't it?

Like open your home, right? Open your home.

Maybe share a meal.

Make room at your table. Invite somebody into your life.

Hospitality doesn't require a perfect house, does it? matching dishes or a meal

that belongs on a cooking show.

Sometimes you know what it looks like? Frozen pizza, paper plates,

a living room that still has laundry on a chair.

Y'all, the point is presence.

Galatians 6, 2 says the following. It says, carry each other's burdens.

And in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Love carries burdens. It checks in.

It helps with groceries. It sits in the waiting room. It sends the message and follows up again.

It prays with someone before they have to ask three times, right?

It notices when someone hasn't been around and reaches out because absence matters.

That kind of love is deeply needed right now because you know why?

We live in a culture that trains us to be consumers, right?

Does a consumer ask? Do I like this?

Does this meet my needs or my family's needs? Is this convenient for me?

Do I prefer this style, this people, the schedule, the experience?

And without realizing it, we can bring that same mindset sometimes into God's church.

We can evaluate church mainly by what we receive, right?

And when something disappoints us or we start quietly shopping on for something

else, but the church is a body.

The church is a family.

The church is a people who are purchased by the blood of Jesus and brought together

by the Spirit of Almighty God.

So we can come with needs, yes, but we can also come with love to give.

We come to receive grace, and we come ready to extend grace.

We come to be encouraged, and we come looking for someone who needs encouragement.

We come hungry, and over time, Jesus teaches us to help feed other people too.

Imagine what would happen if the command of Jesus became normal to us, if this command did.

Imagine if people walked into this church and sensed, as I believe they do,

but even a greater sense that these people actually care about each other.

Imagine if those who are lonely found family here.

Imagine if those who are carrying grief found willing people to sit with them.

Imagine if new believers found patient spiritual brothers and sisters.

Imagine if marriages under pressure found support instead of shame.

Imagine if students found adults who knew their names and prayed for their future.

Imagine if older saints felt honored, valued, and included.

Imagine if people who maybe had been wounded by shallow religion in the past,

encountered a church that's learning imperfectly, but sincerely, how to love like Jesus.

That kind of church would feel different from the world. And I want to say this

gently, but I want to say it clearly, okay?

That kind of church doesn't happen because a few staff members or ministry leaders are friendly.

It happens when the people of God receive the command of Jesus personally.

Come on, love one another.

There is no loophole in that command for personality type.

I mean, introverts and extroverts, they may do it a little differently,

but all of us are called to do it.

There's no exemption for busy

seasons, although busy seasons may require wisdom and limits sometimes.

There's no exception for people who've been hurt, though healing may take time

and trust may need to be rebuilt carefully.

Faithfully. Jesus speaks to all of us, though, in his word as his disciples.

And he says, as I have loved you, Eastwood, so you must love one another.

So what's one step today? What can we take with us? Well, here's a few.

Maybe your step is to stop slipping in and out anonymously and begin moving toward community.

Join a group. Join, serve on a team. Introduce yourself to somebody. Let yourself be known.

Maybe your step is to repair a relationship, make a call, send a message, ask for coffee.

Own your part. Speak with humility. Maybe your step is just practice hospitality

like we talked about earlier.

Invite somebody over for community.

Keep it simple. Don't wait until everything's perfect, right?

Maybe your step is just to notice. Look around before and after service.

Ask God, who needs encouragement today?

Then be willing to act.

Maybe your step is just to stay. If you've been pulling away because somebody

disappointed you or because community got uncomfortable,

ask the Lord whether love is calling you to re-engage with wisdom, honesty, and grace.

Because the mark of the church is what?

L-O-V-E, love. And by God's grace, that mark can become clearer among us.

Today, we started with the reality that many people are surrounded by connection

and still feel alone, remember?

We admitted that even in church, it's possible to attend without really entering

into the life of the family.

Then we listened to Jesus speak to his disciples on the night before the cross,

and his words were clear, right?

Love one another as I've loved you, so you must love one another.

Text actually brought us to a simple and searching place today.

Love is the evidence of discipleship. Jesus defines the standard of love through

his humility, service, sacrifice, and faithfulness.

Biblical love becomes visible through action, honor, patience,

hospitality, generosity, burden bearing, forgiveness, and the willingness to show up.

So here's the call for us this week. You ready?

Don't let love remain an idea that you agree with. Practice it. Practice it.

Choose one person to move toward. Choose one burden to help carry.

Choose one act of hospitality.

Choose one conversation that needs humility.

Choose one moment where you set aside convenience and ask this question,

Jesus, how can I love this person the way you've loved me?

And as we do that, would. Imperfectly and sincerely, the world begins to see

something real among us.

They begin to see the love of Jesus taking shape in ordinary people.

Let's pray together as we stand. Father, just open up our hearts to receive

the command that you give us with humility and courage.

Teach us to love the way you've loved us and continue to shape our church into

a family that reflects your heart to the world.

In Jesus' mighty name we pray. Amen.