Devotional: Our Authentic Testimony John 13:34-35

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35, NASB).

Have you ever heard the statement, “I find what you say hard to believe?” The person that says this is questioning the authenticity of what they have heard. As we celebrate Christmas what is our testimony? Where is my focus? Is it on the birth of Jesus the only begotten Son of God? How do Christians testify that Jesus is born to save us from our sins? How can we have an authentic testimony about God’s love for the world that He demonstrated through Jesus Christ?

The words of Jesus to His disciples in the passage above provide us the answer. What is taking place in this story that motivates Jesus to make this statement? The disciples have been competing with one another for the most important positions in Jesus’ kingdom that He will establish. While eating the Passover meal Jesus gets up and washes their feet. It is a task normally performed by a servant, but there is no servant present. Jesus demonstrates to the disciples that in His kingdom the important person is the one who serves.

When Jesus tells the disciples to love one another as He has loved them, Jesus is telling them to take actions to serve each other; to meet each other’s needs. They will need to take care of one another because He is sending them into a hostile world to preach the Gospel. The words that they say to people about Jesus will not be easily believed because this type of love is not common in the world in which they live. People will be saying, “I find what you are saying hard to believe.”

We can give credibility to what we say about Jesus by giving a visible demonstration of God’s love by loving one another. Our love for one another becomes a tool by which we give and authentic testimony to God’s love demonstrated in sending His Son to die on the cross for our sins.

Prayer: Lord God, we thank You for Your love for us. Grant that by the power of the Holy Spirit we too will love one another: Amen.