Will it be our coffee mugs, jewelry, or t-shirts? Where we park our cars Sunday mornings or the music playing on our radios? Maybe the political signs that appear in our yard every few years? Perhaps our modest dress and white weddings? No, wait. I’ve GOT IT! I know the answer. It will be by all the scripture we can regurgitate as we lead others to Christ.

How will those around us know we are Christians? My list isn’t bad. We should actively seek to commit God’s Word to our hearts and share it generously, in grace-filled ways. Catch me at a stop light in full worship mode and l LOVE a good inspirational coffee mug. But my favorite mug right now doesn’t have an actual verse on it. It simply says, “Love More”. While it is nice to be reminded that I’m “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14) and “more precious than rubies” (Proverbs 3:15), those little snippets of scripture honestly might puff me up a bit if I take them out of context. And they definitely don’t provide the kind of conviction I need to get out the door and win others to Christ. You know what is hard to take out of context? “LOVE MORE”.

Writer and teacher, John Piper, wrote this about love in the Old Testament, “Jesus said that the greatest commandment in the Old Testament was, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind’ (Mathew 22:36; Deuteronomy 6:5). The second commandment was, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ (Matthew 22:39; Leviticus 19:18). Then he said, ‘On these two commandments hang all the law and prophets’ (Matthew 22:40). This must mean that if a person understood and obeyed these two commandments, he would understand and fulfill what the whole Old Testament was trying to teach. Everything in the Old Testament, when properly understood, aims basically to transform men and women into people who fervently love God and their neighbor.”

How will those around us know we are Christians? By our LOVE. Not just regular love, but FERVENT love, agape love. I don’t think there’s a t-shirt or coffee mug that can adequately convey that kind of love to our neighbor. Conservative clothes and publicly displayed political views won’t be key indicators to our community that we love them OR, even more importantly, that HE loves them. But our love IN ACTION will.

If you grew up in church, you just might have a familiar tune running through your head as you repeatedly read, “how will those around us know we are Christians?” I DO know the answer and it is because I’ve hidden God’s word in my heart. By our love. That’s what the Bible says over and over, “Love your neighbor “(Leviticus 19:10) and that is the refrain of this song. They’ll know we are Christians by our love. You won’t find this folksy-sounding hymn on anyone’s hype list, but if you need a low-key morning song to help you remember the ONE thing that will show this world what CHRIST looks like, here it is: https://youtu.be/d9zoq3k-3K0.

Love more.