Being a Redheaded Christian

Suggested Reading: John 13:31-38

If you ever see me or my wife in public with our kids it is impossible to not know who our children belong to. Both of the kids have the same bright red hair as my wife and the same facial structure that runs on my side of the family. Even if they wanted to, my children could not deny who they belong to. When we go out to eat with large groups, it is very easy for our waiter or waitress to know exactly who belongs on our check.

In a similar way, the people we interact with should experience the same kind of certainty that we belong to Jesus. But how, exactly, does that work? It's not as if people can look at us, like they look at my children, and notice the physical resemblance. So what is it that people can see that lets them know we belong to Jesus. I'm sure we could come up with lists of things: compassion, caring for the poor, righteous living, honesty, integrity, loving our neighbor as ourselves. All of those things are important, of course, and we should be characterized by those things. But none of them are the thing that causes people to recognize our affiliation with Jesus when they see them.

In John 13, immediately after Jesus' last supper with the disciples before his crucifixion and after Judas had left to betray him, Jesus told the disciples, "I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love one for another" (John 13:34-35, HCSB). According to Jesus' words here, there are two important things necessary for people to recognize that we belong to Jesus. First, they must see us, as believers, loving one another. Of all the things that we can do, Jesus pointed to this one thing as the primary marker that would let everyone know we belong to him. Not being loving in general. Not even loving our neighbors as ourselves. Not being non-judgmental. But loving each other - our fellow believers. Is it any wonder that the world doesn't believe we belong to a resurrected Lord when we are often better known for fighting each other and arguing with each other than for loving each other?

But the second thing Jesus's words require if people are to recognize that we belong to him is that people must see us together. We cannot be seen to love each other if we are not seen with each other. More than that, we cannot be seen to love each other if we are not seen to love being with each other. Do you really believe that people love each other when they never want to be around each other?  Is it even possible to love someone if you are never together? At least in a biblical, unconditional, love-is-a-choice-not-just-a-feeling kind of way?

Do you want to convince the people in your school or office or neighborhood that Jesus is real and that you belong to him? Let them see you with other believers, actively loving each other the way that Jesus loved us. By this all people will know  that we belong to him.

King Jesus, King Arthur, and Family Wannabes

Suggested Reading: Mark 3:20-35

In the BBC series Merlin, Arthur assumed the kingship upon the murder of his father. In the months following, Arthur's uncle offered him advice as he figured out how to manage the kingdom he had inherited.  Very soon, however, it became obvious that Arthur's uncle was not really helping him and it was not much of a spoiler to discover that the uncle was working with the evil Morgana in order to get Arthur killed.  I can only imagine the sense of betrayal that would flow from discovering a trusted relative is trying to undermine and kill you. The story is a reminder that family is about more than biological relations.

Jesus made a similar point in Mark chapter 3, though his relatives were not evil in this case. Jesus had been teaching and his mother and brothers showed up to see him but couldn't reach him because of the crowd. When Jesus was told he responded, "Who are My mother and My brothers?”... Then looking about at those who were sitting in a circle around Him, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! Whoever does the will of God is My brother and sister and mother” (Mark 3:34-35, HCSB).

Now, Jesus wasn't bashing his family. We know that he still cared for his mother because, while he was dying, he made the disciple John promise to take care of her. But Jesus was trying to make a point about family. Jesus was trying to let us know what it would take for us to call him brother and to have the same kind of relationship with others. For Jesus, family was just as much about sharing the same goals and working for the same things as it was about blood. Jesus promised us that whoever does the will of God is his brother and sister and mother.

One of the best ways to get to know someone is to get down in the trenches and work with them. Jesus is also telling us this.  If we really want to know him, we must jump into the work with him. We must get our hands dirty together caring for the lost, the poor and the hurting. We must take our lead from the Spirit and follow without hesitation. Only then can we really call Jesus our brother with any certainty.

There is a difference between being a brother or sister and acting like one.  Are we willing to put in the effort and act like Jesus is our family?