Proof!

Proof!

‭‭John‬ ‭13:35‬ ‭AMPC‬‬

[35]  By this shall all [men] know that you are My disciples, if you love one another [if you keep on showing love among yourselves].

Again, it has to be emphasised that the audience defines the output. If I know what my desired outcome is, I have to work on the people or the situations that will guarantee that outcome. Jesus is the one speaking here again, and this is strictly for disciples also. How would men know who I am if there is no distinguishing feature to recogize me by? If I then claim to be a follower of Jesus or His disciple, I will be a liar if I do not reflect His presence and power. There has to first be an internal and intimate touch, before there can be an external and visible impact. Too many times, we want the world to know us and to accord us some regard, but we forget that the world will only give you any regard when it recognises the gift of God in you, which it does not have and cannot fake. I can make any kind of claim I want, but at some point, I have to speak up, relate with and interact with other people. Then, the proof of my interaction with God will then be made clear. I need to sort out my identity and allegiance, so that I can touch the world with who I am and what I have been given. 

All men must know that the mark of God is upon me. One way that can be made clear is by the way I love other people. I note that the verse above does not demand a response from me based on what the other person does or does not do, but on who I am and whose I am. The world may not always listen to the long messages that we seek to preach or the winding paths that may be demanded, but the world cannot resist the different lifestyle and priorities that the disciple lives by. My lifestyle must challenge the rotten ways of the world. My lifestyle of love must be an example worthy of emulation. As a disciple, Jesus is the role model and my life must offer the close resemblance to who Jesus is. That was the testimony of the early church and if it is still the same God, the standards have not changed. He will not demand from me that which He has not supplied grace for. If He demands it, it is because God is able to sustain it. I give my life to Him completely, so that the world can know Him through me. God's time of favour is here.