Did you know that Jesus prescribed a test for His followers?

He did.

It’s called LOVE.

So much of His Gospel is dedicated to this litmus test (a decisively indicative test) that I wonder how we could stumble through life without getting it.

Genuine BIBLICAL Christianity is about Jesus Christ. And Jesus is all about LOVE.

The purest definition of a Christian is one who follows Christ. Nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else – Christians follow Christ.

This naturally implies that we’re engaged in a love relationship with Jesus Christ, but not just Him. We’re also involved in a relationship with other followers of Christ.

In His earthly life of public ministry, Jesus had what has been described as an inner circle. Peter, James, and John were the three seemingly privileged men. Perhaps these three thought He loved them more. But maybe Jesus knew these three needed more loving supervision than the others.

John was the youngest and would eventually become known as the Apostle of Love. He understood the assignment and the test. In his writings, we learn so much about what Jesus teaches us about love. Inspired and used by the Holy Spirit, John’s pen provides us with a two-part love litmus test.

1. We are known to this world, believers and unbelievers, by our love relationship with one another.

Jesus says, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).

2. We are known to God, the Father and the Son, by our possession and practice of His love.

Jesus says, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him” (John 14:21).

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The question arises about commandments from the above-referenced John 14:21. Jesus’ teaching about the commandments of God is so simple yet profound that many people still miss it.

Jesus says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40).

Yes. Jesus fulfilled the totality of the Old Covenant with the most significant word of the New Covenant – LOVE. Yes. A New Testament follower of Jesus Christ has only one commandment to keep – LOVE.

Yet, loving God with all you’ve got (heart, soul, and mind) will lead you to grow in His grace and knowledge. Loving Him will be revealed in how you give, fast, and pray. And your love for God is known by all in how you live and love your neighbor (that’s all people).

What does it look like to love your neighbor as yourself?

Think about how easily you can think the best about yourself. You know your intentions even when you don’t follow through with them. So, you justify yourself and give yourself grace. You reconcile that even though you’re not perfect, you try hard to do the right thing.

Why don’t you try loving other people with the same kind of understanding that you give yourself?

Jesus tells us, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (John 13:34).

Make no mistake about this teaching. This love starts and ends with God. But if your love of God is complete, you’ll walk like Jesus and love even the worst among us sinful humans. You’ll love them even if you don’t know them. And even more so, you’ll love the ones you think you know so well.

What happens when those who claim to know God fail to practice love for others? We become a stumbling block that trips up those who have yet to realize God’s love for their sinful souls and His salvation for them.

1 John 2:1-11 provides another practical expression of how the Holy Spirit expects us to live out the love test. The Apostle of Love was used to write it, too, and by this time, he was older than when his Gospel was recorded. I’ll link it here for you to read. But even if you don’t click the link and read the passage, God and I will love you anyway.

My analysis is admittedly simple. The only commandment that really matters is love.

I’ll end with a quote and a statement of love.

Francis Schaeffer once wrote, “If we do not show love to one another, the world has the right to question whether Christianity is true.”

My friend and fellow reader of words: you are loved.