“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35)
Yesterday I was walking along the path adjacent to a stream behind our apartment complex (really, it’s a drainage canal, but it sounds more idyllic if I call it a stream). As I was walking, I noticed something that I hadn’t seen a week ago. The wooded areas along the path were dotted with splashes of yellow hanging from the trees and bushes. No, it wasn’t the pollen that is so ubiquitous this time of year. It was our state flower, the yellow jessamine (also called yellow jasmine or Carolina jasmine).
Carolina jasmine is a vine that quietly wraps itself around anything it can find. People love it as a decorative vine covering a lattice or fence. It spreads almost as easily as kudzu, I think. In the wild, the vine weaves itself throughout entire bushes and trees. Most of the time, you wouldn’t notice the Carolina jasmine if you were just walking by, because it blends in with the other plants.
But then the flowers burst into bloom and suddenly the glory of the Carolina jasmine is revealed. Pine trees and wax myrtles and fences and light poles are suddenly overtaken by a sea of yellow in their midst.
It made me think about us as followers of Jesus. On most any day, I suspect that you and I blend pretty well into the broader population around us. Generally speaking, people don’t look at a crowd of people and say, “well, there’s a Christian, and there’s another one, and there are a few others…”
What would it take for us to get noticed, in a way that gives people a glimpse into the glory and grace of Jesus? What would it take for us to stand out in the crowd in a beautiful way, like the Carolina jasmine does?
Jesus said, "A new command I give you: Love one another" (John 13:34)
Jesus gives us a hint. Actually it’s a command: “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” he says to his disciples (that includes you and me). Then, to follow up his command, he said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
And there you go: the way for us to stand out as followers of Jesus is for us to love one another in the same way that Jesus has loved us.
Love one another unconditionally.
Love one another by serving one another.
Love one another sacrificially.
Love one another by giving of ourselves for the other.
Love one another.
Do this, and the beauty of the One we follow and worship and serve as our Savior and Lord will be on full display.
Wouldn’t it be great if we could stand out among the people of the world in such a beautiful way?
We can. Love one another.
