#82, "The Mark of the Christian"

"The Mark of the Christian"
By Francis A. Schaeffer

This short book--essentially an extended essay--is an examination of Jesus' words from John 13:35: "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” This love must exist both within and without the Christian community. That is, true Christians must love each other; but at the same time true Christians must love the unbeliever. Schaeffer writes that this love is the "mark" that distinguishes the Christian as set apart, and, further, is the visible testimony that Jesus came from the Father. If Christians cannot love one another, then the non-Christian has every right to doubt the truth of our claims. Love is the ultimate command: first, love toward God, then love for every one of our fellow humans, Christian and non-Christian alike.

This message was especially relevant to me this week, as I was talking with my wife just last weekend about a misanthropic streak that has grown in me as I've gotten older. This cynical and often downright antagonistic feeling is, of course, completely wrong. If I respond to human failure by myself failing, I do not complete Jesus' commands but, in my actions, reject them. I cannot make other people more loving, but I can and must love others better in my own words and deeds, and ask forgiveness daily for my own lack of love. Jesus won't judge me based on other people's actions, but my response to them. This is made all the more important for, as Schaeffer deftly explains, this response, the response of love, is what ought to separate me as a Christian.