John 13:35

“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

More often than not, the goal of a lot of parents is to get their kids to behave well, especially when they are out in public. If they don’t, we tend to feel embarrassed. If they do, we tend to feel prideful, or at the very least, relieved. God’s desire for our families, however, is much better than to be a bunch of well-behaved people. His desire is for us to be loving people.

When we love one another well, everything else falls into place. We treat each other with respect. We look out for each other. We happily serve one another. We are careful with the words we use and work really hard to not hurt one another’s feelings. We give each other the benefit of the doubt, and we all remember that we are sinners in need of a Savior, which helps to keep us humble. Those things are the true marks of a Christian family, rather than just being able to put on a “good show” when people are watching us.

Jesus didn’t say that people would recognize our Christianity by the fish on the back of our car, or how often we go to church, or how many Bible studies we attend. He said people would recognize us by the way we love one another. Loving one another well is the key that unlocks the door to peace and cooperation and that “good behavior” so many parents desire. If we achieve temporary good behavior but don’t have love for one another, we really have not accomplished anything of true value.

APPLICATION: As a family, read 1 Corinthians 13: 1-7 and discuss how it points us to love as our #1 goal!